Wall Street Closes November with Gains as Fed Rate-Cut Anticipation Grows

Post by : Mina Rahman

Wall Street concluded a turbulent November with a rise, achieving its fifth straight day of gains. The S&P 500 increased by 0.5% in a truncated trading session on Friday, wrapping up the month with a fractional gain of 0.1%. The Dow Jones surged by 289 points (0.6%), while the Nasdaq saw a 0.7% uptick, though it experienced a 1.5% decline over the month primarily due to poor performances from key tech stocks.

Investor focus has turned to the Federal Reserve, with many speculating that the central bank may implement a rate cut during its meeting on December 10. Current trader sentiment reflects an 87% likelihood of this cut, aimed at bolstering the weakening job market amidst persistent inflation worries.

The performance of tech stocks in November was mixed. Nvidia fell by 1.8% on Friday, ending the month with significant losses, while Oracle and Palantirdeclined by 23% and 16%, respectively. In contrast, Alphabet saw a boost of nearly 14%, supported by its newly launched Gemini AI model.

Post-Black Friday, retailers showed varied outcomes. Macy’s dipped by 0.3%, while Kohl’s rose by 1.4%; specialty stores like Abercrombie & Fitch and American Eagle Outfitters increased by 2.9% and 0.7%, respectively.

In a shift of investing strategies, other sectors gained traction, with pharmaceutical leaders Eli Lilly and Merck achieving over 20% growth for the month. Travel firms including Marriott and Expedia also excelled.

Earlier in the day, markets faced technical issues, as futures trading was paused for several hours due to a data center failure at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Treasury yields subsequently increased, with the 10-year yield hitting 4.02%.

On the international front, Europe enjoyed modest gains, with Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 ticking up by 0.3%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.2%. Meanwhile, South Korea’s Kospi decreased by 1.5% due to disappointing industrial production figures.