Morning in New York: trading will be held in hibernation mode

Daily review and forecast of events on the U.S. stock market from Mikhail Denislamov, Deputy Director of Freedom Capital Markets Research.

The main session after Thanksgiving will be shortened and will last until 1:00 p.m. ET, which traditionally implies low liquidity and weak trading activity. Today's macroeconomic calendar and corporate report schedule are empty due to the holidays.

In the absence of fresh drivers, the dominant dovish narrative regarding the Fed's policy will determine the dynamics on the stock markets. Futures markets estimate the probability of an interest rate cut in December above 85%, which fuels interest in risky assets. Thus, the market has grounds for the start of the Christmas rally, with November marked by corrections creating a favorable low base for the start of the upward movement.

CME suspended trading in commodity futures and options due to a cooling problem at one of its data centers. The failure also affected operations with futures on S&P 500. There have been no official statements about the terms of restoring the functioning of exchange systems.

We assess the balance of risks for the upcoming session as neutral with low volatility due to the shortened trading day. We focus on the S&P 500 fluctuations in the range from 6780-6850 points (from -0.5% to +0.5% to the closing level of the previous session).

We assess the balance of risks for the upcoming session as neutral with low volatility due to the shortened trading day. We focus on the S&P 500 fluctuations in the range from 6780-6850 points (from -0.5% to +0.5% to the closing level of the previous session).

- Positive news from the FDA caused HeartBeam (BEAT) stock price to soar more than 40% on the premarket. Investors positively perceived the updated regulatory pathway for the company's ECG synthesis software, which increases the chances of its commercialization.

- Tilray Brands (TLRY) shares, which are down nearly 16% on the premarket, have been pressured by the announcement of a 1-for-10 reverse split. Such corporate actions, aimed at raising the share price to meet stock listing requirements, are often taken by the market as a sign of weakness in a company's fundamentals.

- In a low-volume market, shares of Corsair Gaming (CRSR) were up nearly 8% before the start of the main session on news of a major insider purchase, which was seen by investors as a pronounced signal of management's confidence in the gaming hardware maker's current valuation and prospects.

Trading on November 26 on American stock exchanges, as well as the three previous sessions, ended on a positive territory. S&P 500 grew by 0.69%, Nasdaq 100 rose by 0.87%, Dow Jones added 0.67%, Russell 2000 - 0.82%. The key driver of growth was the recovery of interest in technology stocks after the recent correction. The "Magnificent Seven" companies were mostly up, while Nvidia (NVDA: +1.4%) recouped some of the losses incurred at the beginning of the week amid concerns about increased competition with Alphabet (GOOGL: -1.1%). The utilities sector (XLU: +1.33%) was the top gainer, while the healthcare industry (XLV: -0.22%) was the outsider.

The main theme of the day was the recovery of positive sentiment in the technology sector, indicating a return of risk appetite.

The macroeconomic statistics data were mixed. On the one hand, the number of initial jobless claims amounted to 216,000 with a consensus of 226,000, and the dynamics of durable goods orders was better than forecasts, which is a positive signal for the economy. On the other hand, the Chicago PMI fell to 36.3 points, significantly below expectations and indicating a slowdown in the manufacturing sector.

Investors regarded the mixed macroeconomic background as another argument for the Fed to ease monetary conditions in December. This conclusion was supported by the publication of the Beige Book, which noted weakening demand for labor and moderate price growth.

- Robinhood Markets (HOOD: +10.9%) acquires 90% of derivatives exchange MIAXdx and plans to launch its own futures and derivatives trading platform in 2026, in what was seen as an important step in diversifying its business.

- News that the U.S. government has negotiated a 71% discount on obesity drugs Ozempic and Wegovy supported Novo Nordisk 's (NVO: +3.5%) U.S.-traded securities.

- Li Auto (LI: +0.6%) showed slight growth despite an extremely weak quarterly report. The company reported its first net loss in three years and a 36% drop in revenue, and gave a conservative guidance for the fourth quarter, citing increased competition.

- Deere & Co. (DE: -5.7%) shares were pressured by a weak outlook for 2026. Results for the last reported quarter exceeded expectations, but the farm equipment maker warned of hitting bottom in the agricultural cycle and continued pressure on profitability, which caused the sell-off.

- A weak revenue outlook for the current quarter and a lowered guidance for the full fiscal year 2026 caused Nutanix stock (NTNX: -17.8%) to fall. Management justified the conservative expectations by the fact that despite a large order backlog, some revenue was deferred to future periods.

- Ambarella (AMBA: -18.8%) shares were pressured by cautious gross margin guidance, although the issuer's third-quarter results and revenue guidance were better than consensus.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor