As November comes to an end, U.S. stocks saw an uptick during the shortened trading week, with the Nasdaq Composite Index ending its seven-month winning streak. Both the tech-heavy Nasdaq and the Dow Jones Industrial Average led the gains on Black Friday, gaining roughly 0.6%. The S&P 500 index also rose by 0.5%, marking a five-day consecutive gain across major indexes.
This week’s stock rebound was fueled by growing trader optimism regarding a potential interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve in December. Particularly, renewed confidence in AI trading buoyed tech companies before the market stopped for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Nevertheless, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 wrapped up a rather tumultuous month with losses. A significant decline in mega-cap tech stocks contributed to these losses, as investors reconsidered the ability of AI-driven firms to convert high expectations into actual profits.
Despite posting its first gain in seven months, the Nasdaq recorded almost a 2% loss for the month. The S&P 500 retained a winning streak, but it decreased by 0.6% this month, while the Dow remained relatively stable.
Trading at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange resumed early Friday after a protracted power outage had interfered with futures and options trading globally, including for U.S. Treasuries and crude oil. The outage lasted until around 8:30 a.m. ET when issues were finally resolved.
With November ending, analysts are beginning to share their forecasts for the stock market for the upcoming year. Deutsche Bank forecasted an S&P 500 target of 8,000 by the end of 2026, while HSBC and JPMorgan projected it would hover around 7,500.
No major earnings or economic data were released on Friday, which saw an early market close at 1 p.m. ET.
