The U.S. equity markets had an abbreviated closing on Friday following their Thanksgiving shutdown. During this brief trading period, both the Dow and S&P 500 indices reached new all-time highs. Futures for the Dow Jones saw a slight uptick early on Friday.
November 2024 marked the strongest month for the S&P 500 since November 2023
[Historical performance does not assure future outcomes] pic.twitter.com/bdmh23SaBG— Liz Ann Sonders (@LizAnnSonders) December 2, 2024
Additionally, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures also experienced gains. The markets had dipped on Wednesday but recovered as yields on Treasury bonds retracted. Technology stocks like CrowdStrike and Dell saw declines following their earnings reports on Wednesday.
“Black Friday signifies the start of a crucial festive period for Apple, with the debut of its flagship iPhone 16 marking the commencement of the Apple Intelligence launch, potentially followed by the release of version 18.2 next week,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives noted @CBSNews https://t.co/IwPJsOkMrb 🏆🔥🐂🍿
— Dan Ives (@DivesTech) November 29, 2024
The S&P 500 rose by 5.7% in November, marking it as the most successful month of 2024. pic.twitter.com/jBMLjhE4oq
— Holger Zschaepitz (@Schuldensuehner) November 29, 2024
In contrast, manufacturers of chip equipment gained ground following reports indicating that new U.S. export restrictions on China might not be as severe as initially anticipated. President-elect Donald Trump mentioned that he had discussions with the president of Mexico, who agreed to halt illegal immigration across the border. This eased concerns regarding Trump’s tariff threats against Canada, Mexico, and China.
On Wednesday, the Dow dropped by 0.3%, the S&P 500 saw a decline of 0.4%, and the Nasdaq retreated by 0.6%. Despite this, the indexes have gained for the week and are approaching all-time highs. Nvidia’s stock fell by 1.15% on Wednesday.
The stock has struggled since reaching a record high on November 21 after its earnings report, where its guidance was only slightly above expectations, despite Nvidia promoting its new Blackwell AI chip.
The rally in the stock market is showing strong performance, characterized by widespread gains.
Stocks achieve record gains in November
Small and midcap stocks are leading the market, alongside financial institutions, homebuilders, and various non-tech companies.
Investors are encouraged to concentrate on thriving sectors instead of focusing solely on technology. Following the closure for Thanksgiving, the markets will operate with reduced hours on Black Friday. The next complete market closure is slated for Christmas, with an early closing on Christmas Eve.
On Friday, the Dow surged nearly 200 points to a new record high. The S&P 500 logged its strongest month of 2024. Chip stocks soared on optimism regarding potential easing of restrictions on China.
Approximately 60% of the S&P 500 stocks experienced gains on Friday. The Dow increased by 1.4% for the week and 7.5% throughout November. Meanwhile, both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq saw week-over-week gains exceeding 1% and monthly increases of 5-6%.
An analyst highlighted that it is “challenging to oppose this bullish market” considering the supportive factors such as the conclusion of the election. Anticipated Federal Reserve rate reductions are also providing a boost to stock values. Interestingly, there hasn’t been a correction of 10% or more in the market during 2024, which is an unusual occurrence.
The S&P 500 is poised for its most successful year since 2021, with an increase of 26%. Some forecasters suggest that stocks might peak before Trump’s inauguration in January, while others are optimistic about further gains, with predictions from one firm estimating the S&P 500 could reach 6,300 by year-end.
