4:20pm: Alphabet closes about $300
US stocks jumped on Monday, giving investors a strong start to the holiday-shortened trading week.
The Nasdaq led the charge, soaring 2.7% to 22,872, while the S&P 500 added 1.6% to 6,705. The Dow Jones rose a more modest 0.4% to 46,448, and the Russell 2000 climbed 1.9% to 2,415.
Tech stocks drove much of the rally, with Alphabet closing above $300 for the first time ever, reflecting renewed optimism around artificial intelligence. The broader market also got a boost from hopes that the Federal Reserve could ease policy in December.
On Monday, Fed Governor Christopher Waller joined New York Fed President John Williams in signaling that a rate cut next month is possible, reinforcing investor expectations for looser monetary policy.
After a pullback earlier this month cooled the AI-driven market rally, Monday’s surge marked another rebound as investors weighed the potential for interest-rate relief against the backdrop of ongoing tech momentum.
3:50pm: Proactive news headlines
- Trust Stamp Inc (NASDAQ:IDAI, ISE:AIID) has launched a patent-protected framework to embed biometric identity links into stablecoins, enhancing regulatory compliance and payment infrastructure.
- Aftermath Silver Ltd (TSX-V:AAG, OTCQX:AAGFF) completed the final payment to acquire Peru’s Berenguela silver-copper-manganese project ahead of schedule, with EMX Royalty reducing the payment for early settlement.
- Pinnacle Silver & Gold Corp (TSX-V:PINN, OTCQB:PSGCF) finished an airborne LiDAR survey over its El Potrero gold-silver project in Mexico to advance surface exploration ahead of drilling.
- Northstar Gold Corp. (CSE:NSG) signed a Master Project Agreement with DIGITAL and partners to apply digital solutions and partially fund its Cam Copper Surgical Mining Project in Ontario.
- Century Lithium Corp. (TSX-V:LCE, OTCQX:CYDVF) provided updates on permitting, plant relocation, and feasibility studies for its Angel Island lithium project, one of the largest US sediment-hosted lithium resources.
- Medicus Pharma (NASDAQ:MDCX) highlighted new research during Men’s Health Awareness Month, advancing clinical development of non-invasive and next-generation therapies for prostate and skin cancers.
- First Phosphate Corp. (CSE:PHOS, OTCQX:FRSPF) closed a tranche of its private-placement financing, raising C$3.57 million through the issuance of flow-through shares and hard-dollar units.
2:45pm: Market movers
- Teck Resources Ltd (TSX:TECK.B) shares rose as BHP abandoned its Anglo American takeover, clearing the way for Teck’s planned $70 billion merger with Anglo American.
- Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) shares gained after launching Qwen, a unified AI chatbot that reached over 10 million downloads within a week.
- Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares surged about 8.5% on news of a major NATO cloud and AI contract and strong investor sentiment.
- Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) shares dropped sharply after semaglutide failed to meet the main objective in late-stage Alzheimer’s trials.
- Trust Stamp Inc (NASDAQ:IDAI, ISE:AIID) unveiled a patent-protected framework linking stablecoins to biometric identities to enhance regulatory compliance.
- Aftermath Silver Ltd (TSX-V:AAG, OTCQX:AAGFF) completed early payment for the Berenguela project in Peru, ahead of the original 2026 deadline.
1:55pm: Rate cut bets climb
Wall Street regained momentum at the start of the week as expectations grew for a potential Federal Reserve rate cut in December.
Antonio Di Giacomo, Senior Market Analyst at XS.com noted that despite the rebound, November has been “a challenging month marked by heightened volatility and an incomplete economic picture.”
“The S&P 500’s recovery shows renewed optimism around a December rate cut, but significant data gaps continue to cloud the Fed’s decision-making," he added.
With key economic reports delayed by the government shutdown—including inflation, retail sales, and GDP—investors are bracing for data that could shift expectations again. Di Giacomo cautioned that an early rate cut could increase market volatility if upcoming figures point to a deeper slowdown, potentially undermining the soft-landing narrative as the year-end approaches.
12:50pm: Nasdaq keeps flying
Major US indexes were flying into the afternoon, led by the Nasdaq after Alphabet propelled the tech-heavy index higher on Monday morning.
Just after the midway point, the Nasdaq was up nearly 2.6%, followed by the S&P 500 with a 1.6% gain and the Dow up 0.6%.
12:05pm: Alphabet surging
Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL) shares climbed about 8.5% on Monday toward a fresh 52-week high, as the tech giant secured a major NATO cloud and AI contract and rode a wave of bullish investor sentiment.
Google Cloud signed a multi-million-dollar deal with NATO’s Communications and Information Agency to equip the Joint Analysis, Training and Education Centre with its Distributed Cloud technology. The system is designed to support AI and analytics on sensitive workloads, ensuring that data remains within NATO territory.
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff also weighed in on Sunday, praising Alphabet’s latest AI model, Gemini 3, saying he was “not going back” to OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
The progress has raised concerns at OpenAI. CEO Sam Altman, in an internal memo, acknowledged that Google’s advances could create “temporary economic headwinds,” while also noting that competitors such as Google and Anthropic are narrowing the AI lead.
11:15am: New AI winner emerging
Tech stocks are leading the way higher on Monday morning, with a potential new frontrunner in the AI space emerging.
“The stage seem set for a continued rebound as another Fed member joins in calls for a December rate cut, while a call between the US and Chinese leaders also helped to bolster sentiment,” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.
“Last week’s flush on Thursday may well have heralded the last hurrah of the selling for the time being, especially as tech traders appear to be piling into Alphabet as the newly-anointed AI winner.”
10:50am: Week ahead
After a bruising November and the worst weekly performance since early October, Wall Street is getting a much-needed breather this week. Markets will be closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving, and traders are hoping a quieter, holiday-shortened stretch might help steady some nerves after last week’s whiplash.
The setup heading into Monday is at least a little more encouraging. Stock futures are pointing higher, bitcoin has calmed down, and risk sentiment is looking steadier after a chaotic few days that saw the biggest intraday swing in US stocks since April.
Earnings season is down to its final laps, but a long list of big names is still waiting in the wings.
On Monday: Agilent Technologies, Zoom and Symbotic are on deck.
Tuesday brings the heavyweights: Alibaba, Dell, Best Buy, HP, Autodesk, Analog Devices, Workday, Zscaler, Dick’s Sporting Goods, JM Smucker and NIO.
Wednesday wraps things up with Deere and Li Auto.
The economic calendar is just as full. Investors get delayed September retail sales and producer price data on Tuesday, followed by durable goods on Wednesday. The Fed’s Beige Book, consumer confidence and a large slate of Treasury auctions add to the mix.
10:00am: Fed hopes lift markets
US stocks opened sharply higher on Monday, signaling a rebound as investors entered the Thanksgiving-shortened trading week.
The Nasdaq led the way, up 1.8% to 22,668, while the S&P 500 gained 1% to 6,669. The Dow Jones added 0.3% to 46,395, and the Russell 2000 rose 1% to 2,393.
Markets were buoyed by optimism that US policymakers may cut interest rates in December. NY Fed President John Williams’ comments last week about “near-term” rate-cut potential helped lift sentiment, with markets now pricing in roughly a 75% chance of a 25-basis-point cut next month. Pepperstone’s Michael Brown said traders may have just found the “strike price” for a so-called Fed put, suggesting policymakers are mindful of recent volatility and its potential impact on the economy.
Tech stocks were in focus again Monday. Alphabet continued to rally in premarket trading after news of a Berkshire Hathaway investment and the launch of a new AI chatbot. Alibaba also highlighted the rapid adoption of its Qwen AI chatbot ahead of Tuesday’s earnings release.
In biotech, Novo Nordisk slipped 9% after its Alzheimer’s-weight-loss drug trial failed to show a delay in disease progression, while Biogen rose 5%.
Cryptocurrencies showed a more cautious tone: Bitcoin dipped slightly to just under $86,000 after bouncing from a Friday low near $81,000.
Investors will get fresh economic data this week, including September producer prices and retail sales on Tuesday, along with November consumer confidence, helping markets calibrate the outlook ahead of the holiday break.
Pre-open: Poise regained?
US markets are tiptoeing into Thanksgiving week with a hint of swagger. Futures pointed mostly higher on Monday as traders clung to the idea that an interest-rate cut could still sneak onto the Federal Reserve’s December agenda. After a rocky fortnight that knocked the shine off this year’s artificial-intelligence high-flyers, investors appear ready for another attempt at a rebound.
S&P 500 futures nudged up around 0.3%, while Dow contracts drifted just below unchanged. Tech was doing the heavy lifting yet again, with Nasdaq 100 futures up about 138 points, or 0.7% as traders looked to stretch out Friday’s recovery.
The mildly better mood followed comments from John Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, who floated the possibility that policymakers could still cut rates before year-end.
Economic data is slowly re-emerging after the record-long government shutdown, though the full calendar remains thin. Tuesday will bring two key September readouts (producer prices from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and retail sales figures from the Census Bureau).
Earnings season is also winding down, leaving a lighter slate for the holiday-shortened week.