Closing Bell: Housing Up on $200B MBS Plan; Soft Jobs Keeps Cuts in Play; Oil Climbs

Stocks finished higher as a softer labor print met an aggressive housing push from Washington, giving the market a clean story to trade into the weekend. The Dow Jones closed +0.48%, the S&P 500 closed +0.65%, the Nasdaq Composite closed +0.95%, and the Russell 2000 closed +0.78%. The ten year Treasury hovered near 4.18%, the VIX held in the mid teens, and oil extended its advance. It was a session that rewarded cyclicals and domestic demand stories while keeping a supportive macro backdrop in place.

A $200B MBS buying plan lights up housing

The administration’s call for $200 billion of mortgage backed securities purchases through the GSEs landed like a thunderclap across housing related equities. Investors immediately leaned into the idea that a deeper MBS bid can compress primary to secondary spreads, nudge mortgage rates lower, and pull forward spring demand. Homebuilders rallied (LEN, DHI, PHM, TOL, NVR), building products and distributors climbed (BLDR, HD, LOW, MAS, OC), and mortgage finance surged (RKT, UWMC, PFSI, LDI). The move also revived chatter about the longer-term paths for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but the near term read was simple: cheaper financing means better order momentum and cleaner mortgage backlog conversion if rates behave.

Labor says cool, not cold

The December 2025 report showed +50K payrolls against a +60K consensus, with meaningful downward revisions to prior months. October moved to −173K and November to +56K, leaving the two month total 76K lower than earlier tallies. For all of 2025, the economy added +584K jobs, about +49K per month, far below the +2.0 million posted in 2024. The unemployment rate edged lower and wage pressure eased at the margin. Put together, the picture is one of low hiring and low firing that supports the soft landing view. It also leaves room for easier policy in 2026 without signaling an imminent growth scare, which helped keep volatility calm and credit conditions friendly.

Oil firm, rates steady, breadth improves

Crude oil continued to firm as the near term balance tightened, lifting Energy and adding a little ballast to broader cyclicals. Rates barely budged, with the ten-year anchored near 4.17 percent, and that stability allowed small caps and domestically focused sectors to carry the tape without crowding out growth leadership. Technology was a two way street. The mega cap platforms held their ground, while some of the heavy movers in memory and storage earlier in the week picked up again and investors recycled capital back into housing and energy winners..

What is next — Monday, Jan 12 (ET)

The domestic calendar looks quiet with no marquee releases on deck. On the earnings front, the pre market tape is led by smaller names, while after the close features Casey’s (CASY) and Star Group (SGU). Those prints will start to sketch how consumer and energy related spending are trending ahead of the larger bank and tech results later in the month.

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