U.S. equity futures rose on Friday following the release of the latest jobs report and ahead of a potential U.S. Supreme Court ruling on tariffs. S&P 500 futures climbed 0.4%, as did Nasdaq 100 futures. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 170 points, or 0.3%. Stock futures took a leg higher after the December jobs report showed nonfarm payrolls increasing by 50,000 last month, less than the 73,000 that economists polled by Dow Jones had estimated. That data, though slightly weaker than expected, showed a U.S. economy that’s still trudging along, with investors anticipating that growth will ramp up. Additionally, the unemployment rate inched down to 4.4%, while economists had forecast 4.5%. Traders took that as a sign that improvement in the economy would happen soon. “The December jobs release provided the first clean read on the labor market since the government shutdown ended but did little to provide clarity about the state of the labor market given its mixed reading,” said Jeff Schulze, head of economic and market strategy at ClearBridge Investments. “This outcome should keep the Fed on hold for now, although the committee will remain vigilant for signs of further labor softening.” Investors are now awaiting a potential Supreme Court ruling on the legality of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which could have an impact on trade policy and the nation’s fiscal situation. To be sure, it’s uncertain if the high court will make its ruling Friday. “There’s a little bit of wait-and-see approach from the companies before they start restocking on what happens to tariffs,” said Wells Fargo chief equity strategist Ohsung Kwon on CNBC’s “Power Lunch” Thursday. “We have the ruling potentially tomorrow. I think after that, the companies might start to restock again, and that’s gonna kickstart the manufacturing cycle.” Separately, investors will watch for developments on Trump’s directive “to his Representatives” to buy $200 billion in mortgage bonds, which he claimed will drive rates and monthly payments down. In premarket trading, shares of General Motors fell almost 3% after the company said Thursday it would record $7.1 billion in special charges for the fourth quarter as a result of its China restructuring efforts and an electric vehicle investment pullback. In regular trading Thursday, investors rotated away from tech stocks. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed the day lower by 0.4%, dragged down by losses in Nvidia, Palantir and Broadcom. The 30-stock Dow added 270 points, or about 0.6%. The S&P 500 ended the session marginally higher. Stocks remain on track for a winning week. The S&P 500 is up about 0.9% week to date, while the Dow and Nasdaq have jumped roughly 1.8% and 1.1%, respectively. U.S. Treasury yields were little changed on Friday after the latest jobs report showed a mixed picture of the U.S. labor market. The 10-year Treasury yield was less than a basis point lower at 4.177%. The 2-year Treasury note was up more than 1 basis point to 3.505% while the 30-year bond yield moved 1 basis point lower to 4.848%. Defense stocks across Asia climbed Friday as investors continued to monitor ongoing geopolitical tensions, following the U.S. operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and President Donald Trump’s renewed push to take over Greenland. Markets in the region traded mixed. China’s CSI 300 inched 0.45% higher to close at 4,758.92 after its December consumer prices rose 0.8% from a year earlier, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics on Friday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.32%. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1.61% to end the trading day at 51,939.89, while the Topix climbed 0.85% to 3,514.11. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.75% to end the trading day at 4,586.32, and the small-cap Kosdaq rose 0.41% to 947.92. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 ticked slightly below the flatline to 8,717.8. Oil ⁠prices rose on Friday on concerns about potential disruption to Iran’s output and uncertainty about supply from Venezuela. Brent futures were ‍up 43 cents, or ‍0.7%, to $62.42 per barrel at ‍1106 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 41 cents, or 0.7%, to $58.17. Both benchmarks climbed more than 3% on Thursday, following two straight days of declines. For the week, Brent ‌is ‌on track to climb 2.8%, while WTI has gained 1.5%. Gold prices were largely ‍steady on Friday, as caution ‍before key U.S. ‍employment data kept investors from making big moves, with dollar strength limiting upside momentum. Spot gold edged 0.1% lower to $4,471.58 per ounce as of 1033 GMT, though it ‌was ‌set for a more than 3% weekly gain. Bullion ​hit a record high of $4,549.71 on December 26. U.S. gold futures for February delivery firmed 0.4% to $4,480.30.