US stock futures trod water on Wednesday as investors waited for the long-awaited January jobs report to help set expectations for interest-rate cuts.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) held just above the flatline, coming off a third straight record close. Contracts on the S&P 500 (ES=F) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) were also little changed on the heels of a losing day.

Investors are focused on the "Super Bowl of jobs reports" — the delayed January nonfarm-payrolls update. After a bruising recent run of labor market data, a subdued reading is expected.

While estimates vary wildly, economists surveyed by Bloomberg project a gain of about 68,000 jobs in the Bureau of Labor Statistics release scheduled for 8:30 a.m. ET. The unemployment rate is expected to hold at 4.4%. At the same time, sweeping revisions to 2025 numbers that could show far fewer new positions were added to the US economy than previously thought.

White House officials have downplayed the importance of the report to gauging economic health. "We have to revise our expectations down significantly for what a monthly job number should look like," trade counselor Peter Navarro told Fox News.

Any surprise will feed into bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts, already bolstered by soft December retail data that revealed fresh signs of weakness in the economy. Markets are now pricing in around 77% odds of lower rates by June, as odds on the Fed standing pat in coming months tick lower.

Earnings season could provide further insight into the American consumer as well as Corporate America, with McDonald's (MCD) and Kraft Heinz (KHC) results due before the bell. After the market close, Cisco's (CSCO) quarterly report comes as the tech stalwart takes on Nvidia (NVDA) for Big Tech spending with a new AI networking chip.

Humana (HUM) stock fell 7% before the bell on Wednesday after forecasting annual profit below analysts' estimates. The health insurer has been impacted by lower quality ratings for its ⁠Medicare Advantage plans for older ​adults.

Moderna (MRNA) stock sank 10% during premarket hours on Wednesday after the FDA refused to review its application to sell a new flu vaccine.

Palantir (PLTR) stock dipped lower on Wednesday. The data analytics company's shares have fallen more than 20% over the past month.

Here's a look at some stocks trending on Yahoo Finance following their after-hours earnings reports:

Robinhood (HOOD) shares tumbled 7% after the brokerage and banking platform provider reported better-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter, but missed estimates on several other metrics. Retail trading buoyed the company during the quarter, offsetting weakness in crypto revenue.

Lyft (LYFT) stock pulled back over 17% in premarket trading after its first quarter outlook and surprise 2025 operating loss dented expectations for the ride-hailing company's comeback story.

Mattel (MAT) shares tanked over 30% before the bell after the toymaker reported wide misses on Wall Street expectations for Q4 profit and revenue. Its 2026 forward guidance also fell short.

Cloudflare (NET) stock jumped 14% after the tech company posted a big Q4 revenue beat. It also offered Q1 and 2026 sales guidance that topped Wall Street estimates, betting on an AI buildout boost to demand for its cloud services.

Read more coverage of corporate earnings here.

On Wall Street, rising AI fears keep pummeling shares of companies at risk of being caught on the wrong side of it all, from small software makers to big wealth-management firms, per Bloomberg.

A tax-strategy took from start-up Altruist spurred the latest sell-off on Tuesday, hitting the likes of Charles Schwab and Raymond James. Some of the stocks suffered their deepest fall since the April trade-war market meltdown.

Bloomberg reports:

The advances in AI have been at the forefront of Wall Street over the past few years, with tech stocks leading the charge. As the rally pushed share prices to record highs, questions persisted about whether it was a bubble about to burst — or would set off a productivity boom that would remake corporate America.

But since early last week, a trickle of AI product rollouts triggered a stark sea change. Instead of focusing on picking the winners, investors instead are quickly trying to avoid getting caught owning any company with the slightest risk of being displaced.

“I have no idea what’s next,” said Will Rhind, the CEO of Graniteshares Advisors.

“The story from last year was we all believe in AI — but we’re searching for the use case,” he said. “And when we keep discovering the use cases that seemingly are more and more powerful and more and more compelling, it’s now leading to disruption.”

Read more here.

Bloomberg reports:

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) has just drawn fresh support from some of its largest holders, though the return of demand remains narrow enough to raise doubts about whether it marks a recovery or mere damage control.

So-called whale wallets accumulated about 53,000 coins in the past week, their biggest buying spree since November, after weeks of heavy selling. Those kinds of purchases helped steady prices after a steep drawdown, even as most other investors stayed on the sidelines.

Data from industry research firm Glassnode show that wallets holding more than 1,000 Bitcoin added more than $4 billion worth of the token over the period, interrupting months of divestment that have left Bitcoin roughly 40% below its October peak.

“It does slow down any downfall,” said Brett Singer, head of sales at Glassnode. “But we still need to see more money coming into the market.”

Read more here.

Reuters reports:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will not review Moderna's (MRNA) approval application for its influenza vaccine, the company said on Tuesday, sending ‌its shares down 8% in extended trading.

In its refusal-to-file letter, the FDA said ‌Moderna's choice to compare mRNA-1010 to an already licensed standard-dose seasonal influenza was the sole reason for the refusal ​to initiate a review of the application.

The letter specifically cited the lack of an \\"adequate and well-controlled\\" study with a comparator arm that \\"does not reflect the best-available standard of care,\\" Moderna said.

\\"This decision by CBER (Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research), which did not identify any safety or efficacy concerns with ‌our product, does not further our ⁠shared goal of enhancing America's leadership in developing innovative medicines,\\" said CEO Stephane Bancel.

Read more here.