Stocks End Higher on Black Friday; Indexes Log Best Week Since June But Nasdaq Snaps Seven-Month Winning Streak

Noteworthy S&P 500 Movers on Friday

9 hr 20 min ago

Advancers

• Intel (INTC) shares surged 10.2% to post the S&P 500’s top performance in the shortened trading session. The jump came after an analyst suggested that Intel could become a foundry supplier for Apple (AAPL) processors, adding fuel to rumors earlier in the year about a possible deal with the iPhone maker.
• Shares of Sandisk (SNDK), a maker of flash memory cards and solid-state drives, gained close to 4% as the stock made its debut in the S&P 500 Friday. Inclusion in the benchmark index can increase demand for a stock from index-tracking funds and new audiences of investors. Sandisk stock has soared since the business completed its spin-off from Western Digital (WDC) in February, boosted by optimistic forecasts for memory pricing amid strong AI-driven demand.
• Shares of natural gas producer and pipeline operator EQT (EQT) gained over 3%. Natural gas futures prices moved higher after temperatures dipped over Thanksgiving, with temperatures forecasted to remain below average over the coming week, providing a strong demand signal for the key heating fuel. 

Decliners

• Eli Lilly (LLY) shares slipped 2.6%, giving back a portion of the recent gains that helped the drugmaker become the first-ever healthcare company to reach a market capitalization of over $1 trillion. Sales of the company’s popular weight-loss drugs have underpinned the push higher. Despite Friday’s decline, Lilly stock is up around 39% for 2025.
• Several AI darlings came under pressure in the shortened trading session. Nvidia (NVDA) shares, which fell earlier in the week amid concerns about competitive threats from other firms, slid another 1.8% Friday. Shares of database and networking software giant Oracle (ORCL) lost 1.5%.

–Michael Bromberg

Nasdaq’s Monthly Winning Streak Ends at Seven

10 hr 10 min ago

Even though it ended the holiday-shortened week up nearly 5%, the Nasdaq posted a losing month for the first time since March.

The tech-heavy index finished November down 1.5%, snapping a streak of seven straight monthly gains.

The benchmark S&P 500 ended November up 0.1%, narrowly extending its winning streak to seven months. It finished the week up 3.7%. 

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average concluded November up 0.3% to further its monthly winning streak to seven. It ended the week up 3.2%. 

Why Some Experts Believe Gold Prices Could Reach $5,000 in 2026

11 hr 5 min ago

Gold has glittered this year. And there’s good reason to expect the precious metal to continue hitting record highs in the year ahead.

Several Wall Street firms issued reports this week showing that analysts and investors believe the price of gold will rise in 2026, with some forecasting it could hit $5,000 per troy ounce, implying upside of about 20%. Many of the factors that have led investors to pour money into the traditional safe-haven asset are likely to remain in play, experts say.

Goldman Sachs on Friday said that nearly 70% of institutional investors expect gold prices to continue rising, with 36% saying the price will top $5,000 by the end of 2026, according to a survey this month of more than 900 clients. Investors cited continued buying by central banks around the world and fiscal concerns as the biggest factors contributing to gold’s rise.

Gold was trading at $4,220 an ounce Friday. That’s down from a record high just below $4,400 set in October, but still 60% higher than where it started 2025. Gold’s price surge has far outpaced the performance of the benchmark S&P 500 stock index.

Read the full article here.

–Stephen Wisnefski

Top Stock Movers Now: Intel Rises, Nvidia and Oracle Slip; Bitcoin Price Near $92,000

11 hr 25 min ago

Shares of U.S. chipmaker Intel were leading the S&P higher as stocks edged upward on a holiday-shortened Black Friday session expected to be light on trading volume and corporate news.

All three of the major indexes were modestly higher, led by the blue-chip Dow, in late-morning trading. It’s an abridged day for traders after yesterday’s holiday break: The stock market closes at 1 p.m., while the bond market is set to close an hour later.

Intel (INTC) was the biggest mover, on a percentage basis, on the S&P 500 in either direction, rising about 8%. Drugmaker Eli Lilly (LLY) was the biggest decliner, slipping close to 3%.

A few consumer-focused companies were among the top movers on Black Friday, a vital in-store and online shopping day. Brown-Forman (BF.A, BF.B), known for Jack Daniel’s whiskeys and Herradura tequilas, among other things, was up 1.5%, while athletic apparel company Lululemon (LULU) was more than 2% higher. Consumer electronics retailer Best Buy (BBY), which reported its latest quarterly financial results earlier this week, was more than 1% lower.

Some high-profile stocks associated with the AI buildout were in the red today. Nvidia (NVDA) was recently down 1.8%, while Oracle (ORCL) was off 2.2%. Both companies’ shares were among the bigger decliners in the S&P 500. Broadly speaking, Big Tech was creeping upward: The Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (MAGS) was recently up 0.3%.

Shares of crypto exchange Coinbase Global (COIN) were recently up nearly 4%. Cathie Wood’s ARK funds have reported purchases of the stock this week; the price of Bitcoin was recently changing hands around $92,000 as the leading cryptocurrency extended its bounce off recent lows. Bitcoin buyer Strategy (MSTR) was up 2.4%.

–David Marino-Nachison

Health Care Is Only Negative S&P 500 Sector Today

11 hr 25 min ago

Each of the 11 industries tracked by the S&P 500 is in the green today except one.

The S&P 500 Health Care Sector was down 0.6% with less than 90 minutes remaining in the shortened Black Friday session.

Leading declines were shares of pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly (LLY), whose stock was down 2.7% in recent trading.

Gilead Sciences (GILD) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) also were among the biggest decliners in the sector, both down between 1% and 2% on a day the benchmark index was up 0.4% overall.

Sandisk Joined the S&P 500 Today. Its Stock Has Been a Huge Gainer This Year

12 hr 4 min ago

Shares of Sandisk climbed Friday as the data storage company joined the benchmark S&P 500 index.

Sandisk’s (SNDK) stock jumped close to 11% Friday morning before paring back much of its early gains. Its shares, which have been lifted by demand driven by the AI boom, are among the hottest around this year; the company was spun off from Western Digital (WDC) in February, and the stock is up more than 500% since. The company’s market capitalization is above $31 billion, according to Visible Alpha data.

The spot in the S&P 500 was available because of the completion of Omnicom Group’s (OMC) acquisition of Interpublic Group (IPG) earlier this week. The two previous companies to join the index, Solstice Advance Materials (SOLS) and Qnity (Q), were also the products of spinoffs.

Investors generally cheer the addition of companies’ shares to the S&P 500 and other major indexes, which is seen as giving them a short-term bump. 

Read the full article here.

–David Marino-Nachison

Crypto-Tied Stocks Rise Along With Price of Bitcoin

12 hr 36 min ago

Some of the biggest gainers on this shortened Black Friday session are cryptocurrency-tied stocks.

Shares of MARA Holdings (MARA), Strategy (MSTR), and Coinbase Global (COIN) were up a respective 7%, 5%, and 5%, in recent trading.

Coinbase was one of the biggest risers in the benchmark S&P 500, while Strategy was among the largest gainers in the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

Bitcoin was trading near the day’s high around $92,700.

Tilray Brands Stock Plummets as Cannabis Firm Announces 1-for-10 Reverse Split to Take Effect Next Week

13 hr 22 min ago

Nearly six months ago, Tilray Brands (TLRY) stockholders approved a 1-for-10 reverse stock split. Now the cannabis firm has given a date it will take effect, and shares are tanking.

Tilray Brands, which describes itself as “a global lifestyle and consumer packaged goods company at the forefront of the global cannabis, beverage, and wellness industries,” announced late Wednesday that the reverse split will take effect after markets close next Monday, Dec. 1. When markets open Tuesday, its shares will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis under the same ticket symbol, but with a new CUSIP number, 88688T209.

At a special meeting on June 10, Tilray’s stockholders approved a proposal authorizing a reverse split, which Tilray said is expected to make it “more attractive to institutional shareholders” and reduce expenditures associated with its annual meeting, “resulting in up to $1 million in cost savings on an annual run rate basis.”

Starting Tuesday, every 10 shares of common stock will be automatically combined and converted into one, reducing the number of outstanding from about 1.16 billion shares to 116 million. Fractional shares will not be issued, Tilray said.

Tilray Brands shares plummeted 19% in the first 30 minutes of trading Friday. They are down roughly 40% this year.

Holiday Budgets Are Rising. See How Your Spending Compares

13 hr 48 min ago

The holidays are here after a bumpy year for the U.S. economy, and Americans still expect to spend far more this year than they did in 2024.

Shoppers anticipate spending $2,800, on average this holiday season, up more than $1,000 from last year, according to a BMO survey of 2,500 people. Out of all the generations, millennials expect to spend the most—about $4,400. Meanwhile, Baby Boomers anticipate spending the least— $1,600.

While inflation has fallen from its recent peak in the summer of 2022, high prices continue to weigh on consumers. As of September, prices have risen 3% year-over-year, in part, due to tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on imported goods.

Accordingly, more than three in five (62%) BMO survey respondents said they were changing how they shop due to tariff-related price uncertainty.

Read the full article here.

–Trina Paul

Gotta Catch ‘Em All: Retailers Load Up on Sports, Pokémon and Other Trading Cards

15 hr 14 min ago

Americans’ love of trading cards has retailers lining up to sell them.

Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS) has opened what it calls Collectors Club Houses in 20 shops, and plans to include them in more locations, CEO Lauren Hobart said on a conference call this week. The spaces, which feature trading cards and signed sports memorabilia, come as retailers rush to capitalize on soaring demand for collectibles.

Consumer response “has exceeded our expectations,” Hobart said, according to a transcript made available by Alpha Sense. “It’s a unique and fast-growing category that’s a great complement to everything we do, and we’re very excited about the opportunity ahead.”

Trading cards have become nearly ubiquitous, popping up everywhere from Costco Wholesale (COST) to mom-and-pop bodegas. Demand for “high-velocity items, such as Pokémon cards,” prompted Costco to create a digital waiting room for its e-commerce platform, CEO Ronald Vachris said. The cards are expected to be a hit this holiday season at Kohl’s (KSS), Best Buy (BBY) and Target (TGT), their executives said on conference calls this week.

Target has built up a diverse collectibles business, including Magic the Gathering, National Football League, Major League Baseball and Women’s National Basketball Association cards, chief commercial officer Rick Gomez said. It leaned into the category after trading cards at the big-box stores rose nearly 70% during the first six or seven months of the year, Gomez said in August. 

Read the full article here.

–Sarina Trangle

Booze-Free Beverages Boom as the ‘Self-Prohibition’ Era Gains Momentum

15 hr 58 min ago

When the booze-free bottle shop Spirited Away opened in Manhattan five years ago, its proprietor found about a dozen options with which to stock the shelves. Now, according to co-owner Alex Highsmith, the store stocks about 300 brands.

Business, meanwhile, is increasing annually by double-digit rates. Customers, she said, try eschewing alcohol—testing a “Dry January,” for example—decide they like how they feel, and then “keep coming back.”

That feeling has helped retailers selling nothing but non-alcoholic beer, wine and spirits grow as alcohol consumption has waned.

Fewer Americans are drinking alcohol these days, and those who do are cutting back. About 54% of adults say they drink, Gallup said in August, the lowest rate recorded in 90 years. Those surveyed reported having an average of 2.8 drinks over the past week, down from 3.8 in 2024 and even more in prior years. The shift appears most pronounced among young Americans, with those under 25 drinking 17% less than older adults, according to research from Jefferies.

Read the full article here.

–Sarina Trangle

Stock Futures Tick Higher Before Tech Outage Halts Trading

16 hr 29 min ago

Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.1% before the trading halt.

S&P 500 futures also ticked 0.1% higher before the trading freeze.

Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.2% before the halt.