US stock futures ticked higher on Thursday evening as investors eagerly awaited the release of the December jobs report. Futures linked to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 both gained 0.1%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 53 points, or about 0.1%. These movements come after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite experienced declines for their fourth and fifth consecutive negative sessions, respectively, on Thursday.

For the week, the three major averages are on track to break nine-week winning streaks. The Dow Jones is down 0.66%, while the S&P 500 is down 1.70% and the Nasdaq is down 3.34%. This decline has been led by cooling off of large cap tech stocks, including Apple, which has been downgraded by two research shops this week.

Wealth management firm, Corient, announced that they will be pausing on any new investments in large tech names due to the market's high price to earnings ratio. Amy Kong, a partner at Corient, explained that the market is currently sitting at a 20-times price to earnings ratio for this year, which is higher than both historical and absolute standards. Investors are now awaiting earnings growth to support the current valuation.

The December jobs report, set to be released before the bell on Friday, is expected to be a key driver for the market. Economists polled by Dow Jones project a slowdown in job growth to 170,000 last month. Any surprises in the report could have an impact on stock prices, as investors anticipate the continuation of economic growth but at a slower pace, allowing the Federal Reserve to potentially cut rates.

With one session left in the week, the Dow is on track to break its nine-week winning streak, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are also set to end the week with losses. The S&P 500 has fallen for four straight sessions, marking its first such streak since October 2023, while the Nasdaq Composite suffered its fifth negative session in a row, which it has not experienced since October 2022.

In summary, US stock futures are showing slight gains as investors await the December jobs report and hope for positive economic data to support stock prices.