Published: November 24, 2025 – U.S. session recap (after market open and through the close)
Nasdaq Today: Biggest Jump Since May as AI Trade Roars Back
Wall Street kicked off the Thanksgiving week in full risk‑on mode on Monday, November 24, 2025, with the Nasdaq Composite surging 598.92 points, or 2.7%, to 22,872.01. That marks the tech‑heavy index’s strongest single‑day gain in roughly six months and extends a rebound that began late last week. [1]
The rally was powered by:
- Explosive gains in mega‑cap tech and AI stocks, led by Alphabet and Tesla
- Rising expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut in December, which pushed bond yields lower
- A solid rebound in chip and AI‑infrastructure names after a rocky stretch earlier in November [2]
By comparison, the S&P 500 climbed 1.5% to 6,705.12, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4% to 46,448.27. Small caps joined the party too: the Russell 2000 jumped 1.9% to 2,414.28, underscoring the breadth of Monday’s advance. [3]
For the year so far, the Nasdaq is now up about 18.4% in 2025, outpacing the S&P 500’s roughly 14% gain and the Dow’s 9.2% rise. [4]
How the Nasdaq Traded on November 24, 2025
Pre‑Market and the Opening Bell
The tone was set before the opening bell. The Nasdaq‑100 Pre‑Market Indicator was already flashing green, up 229 points to 24,469.05 as of 8:29 a.m. ET, signaling a strong start for large‑cap tech. [5]
By late morning, the rally had firmly taken hold:
- The Nasdaq‑100 index was up roughly 2%
- The S&P 500 was higher by just over 1%
- Futures on the Nasdaq and S&P were also up a bit more than 2% and 1%, respectively, reflecting broad enthusiasm for risk assets [6]
From there, momentum only strengthened into the afternoon as traders piled back into growth names and AI winners. By the close, the Nasdaq Composite’s 2.7% jump and the Nasdaq‑100’s gain of about 2.6% (to 24,873.85) ranked as the biggest daily moves for U.S. tech benchmarks since late spring. [7]
Alphabet’s Gemini 3 and AI Hype Dominate Nasdaq’s Move
Alphabet Races Toward a $4 Trillion Valuation
The clear star of the session was Alphabet (Google’s parent company).
- Alphabet’s stock climbed roughly 5–6% to a new record high near $315–$320
- Its market capitalization reached about $3.8 trillion, putting it within striking distance of the ultra‑exclusive $4 trillion club [8]
Analysts and traders credited the surge largely to excitement around Gemini 3, Alphabet’s latest flagship AI model. Early testing and coverage in the tech press highlighted Gemini 3’s strong performance across coding, reasoning, and multimodal tasks relative to rival systems, reinforcing the narrative that Alphabet is firmly back in the AI leadership race. [9]
Mainstream market coverage repeatedly pointed to Alphabet as one of the single biggest forces lifting both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, thanks to its heavy weighting in major indices and its outsized one‑day move. [10]
Chip Stocks and AI Infrastructure Join the Rally
The AI enthusiasm spilled over into semiconductor and AI‑infrastructure stocks, which had been under pressure earlier in the month over valuation concerns:
- Broadcom jumped by around 11%, one of the day’s strongest performers among large tech names [11]
- Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Micron Technology (MU) rose as investors rotated back into chipmakers seen as key beneficiaries of AI data‑center spending [12]
- Leveraged tech ETFs tied to the Nasdaq‑100 also saw heavy pre‑market and intraday activity, reflecting renewed speculative appetite. [13]
Tesla and the “Magnificent Seven” Rebound
The broader “Magnificent Seven” cohort — mega‑cap tech and growth names — also participated:
- Tesla gained about 6–7%, extending a rebound after a choppy stretch for EV and AI‑linked names [14]
- Meta Platforms, Amazon, Apple and Nvidia all traded higher, though not all matched Alphabet’s spectacular move. [15]
This concentration of gains in the biggest Nasdaq components helped turbo‑charge the index, since they carry outsized weight in both the Nasdaq Composite and Nasdaq‑100.
Fed Rate‑Cut Bets: The Macro Engine Behind the Move
Dovish Fed Signals and a Data Backlog
Beyond individual stocks, macro policy expectations were the other major driver of Monday’s rally.
Two key developments shifted the interest‑rate narrative:
- Fed Governor Christopher Waller indicated he is advocating for another 25‑basis‑point cut at the December FOMC meeting, citing concerns about labor‑market softness. [16]
- New York Fed President John Williams has also flagged room for further adjustments, reinforcing the idea that policy is only “modestly restrictive.” [17]
At the same time, the Bureau of Labor Statistics is still clearing a backlog of economic reports after a six‑week government shutdown delayed key releases like the October jobs and inflation data. That’s left investors leaning heavily on Fed commentary and September‑dated figures while they wait for updated CPI and employment numbers later in December. [18]
Rate‑Cut Odds Jump and Bond Yields Slip
As Monday’s session progressed, futures markets sharply repriced the odds of another rate cut:
- Around mid‑day, traders were assigning roughly a 70–72% chance of a December cut, according to futures‑based models. [19]
- By late afternoon, estimates from CME’s FedWatch tool and other market models suggested probabilities closer to 80–85%, up from roughly 40–45% a week earlier. [20]
That shift pushed Treasury yields lower, easing pressure on growth‑stock valuations:
- The 10‑year Treasury yield dipped to around 4.03–4.05%, down a few basis points from Friday’s close. [21]
For high‑duration assets like tech and AI shares, lower yields translate directly into higher present values for future cash flows — which is why Nasdaq indices often respond so violently to rate‑cut hopes.
Market Breadth: Tech Leads, but Rally Is Broad
Despite headlines dominated by Alphabet and AI, Monday’s move wasn’t only about a handful of mega‑caps.
Sector Performance
Across the S&P 500’s 11 sectors:
- Communication services — home to Alphabet and Meta — posted the largest percentage gain
- Technology and consumer discretionary also logged robust advances, reflecting strength in chips, software and select retailers
- Only consumer staples and energy closed slightly in the red, held back by defensive rotations and modest commodity moves [22]
Breadth and New Highs vs New Lows
Breadth was solid, especially on the Nasdaq:
- On the Nasdaq exchange, about 3,187 stocks rose while 1,478 fell, a positive ratio of more than 2:1 [23]
- The Nasdaq Composite logged 112 new 52‑week highs, versus 122 new lows — an improvement from the more lopsided downside seen during November’s earlier selloffs [24]
- U.S. exchange volume totaled around 18.3 billion shares, slightly below the recent 20‑day average, suggesting the rally was strong but not marked by panic‑style capitulation buying. [25]
Notable Nasdaq‑Linked Movers
While index‑level performance grabs the spotlight, several individual stocks tied to the Nasdaq universe played outsized roles in the day’s story:
- Alphabet (GOOGL) – Soared roughly 5–6% to record highs, fueled by optimism over Gemini 3 and a potential march toward a $4 trillion market cap. [26]
- Tesla (TSLA) – Climbed around 6–7% as investors rotated back into high‑beta growth, helping power the Nasdaq‑100 higher. [27]
- Broadcom (AVGO), AMD (AMD), Micron (MU) – Enjoyed strong gains as investors bet anew on AI data‑center and semiconductor demand, following a brief correction tied to valuation worries. [28]
- Intuit (INTU) – Rose about 4% after reporting better‑than‑expected fiscal Q1 earnings, contributing to bullish sentiment in the software and fintech space. [29]
- Ross Stores (ROST) – Jumped more than 8% on a strong earnings beat, reinforcing the idea that parts of U.S. consumer spending remain resilient heading into the holiday season. [30]
- Biogen (BIIB) vs. Novo Nordisk (NVO) – Biogen shares gained over 3% after Novo Nordisk’s pill version of Ozempic failed in an Alzheimer’s trial, prompting a nearly 5–6% slide in Novo’s U.S.‑listed stock and highlighting idiosyncratic moves within healthcare. [31]
Together, these individual stories amplified the Nasdaq’s sensitivity to earnings beats, AI narratives and clinical trial headlines, while underlining how concentrated the index is in a relatively small number of mega‑cap names.
From “Rocky Week” to Relief Rally
Monday’s surge came right after one of the most volatile AI‑driven stretches of the year.
A weekly recap published earlier in the day noted that, for the week ending November 21, the Nasdaq Composite had fallen about 2.7%, with the S&P 500 and Dow each down nearly 2%, as investors questioned whether AI valuations had gotten ahead of fundamentals. [32]
That context helps explain why:
- Monday’s 2.7% gain in the Nasdaq stands out as a sharp reversal of recent weakness
- Several outlets described the move as the largest daily advance in roughly six months and a sign that the AI trade is “regaining ground” in the holiday‑shortened week [33]
Still, some strategists cautioned that Nasdaq and S&P 500 remain on track for monthly losses, and that concerns over stretched tech valuations and AI bubbles haven’t disappeared — they’ve just been overshadowed, at least temporarily, by the allure of a friendlier Fed. [34]
What Nasdaq Traders Will Watch Next
With Monday’s blockbuster session in the books, market participants are already looking ahead.
Key catalysts in the days ahead include:
- Upcoming economic data:
- Delayed September retail sales and producer price index figures
- Conference Board consumer confidence
- Pending home sales and durable‑goods orders later in the week [35]
- Holiday spending data: The National Retail Federation expects U.S. holiday sales to top $1 trillion for the first time, putting the spotlight on consumer discretionary and e‑commerce names heavily represented on the Nasdaq. [36]
- The December 9–10 FOMC meeting, where investors now see a high probability of another 25‑bps cut — the third of 2025 — a decision that could determine whether Monday’s move is the start of a sustained year‑end “Santa rally” or just another AI‑driven head fake. [37]
From a technical perspective, traders will be watching to see whether the Nasdaq Composite can hold above the 22,800 region and stay near the psychologically important 23,000 level. A decisive break higher later this week would signal that dip‑buyers have firmly regained control — while a quick reversal could reinforce the idea that 2025’s AI boom comes with equally dramatic swings.
Key Takeaways for Readers Following the Nasdaq
- “Nasdaq today” was all about AI and the Fed. Alphabet’s Gemini 3 and a surge in rate‑cut expectations combined to deliver the index’s best day since May, with a 2.7% jump. [38]
- Mega‑cap tech remains the market’s steering wheel. When Alphabet, Tesla and leading chipmakers move together, the Nasdaq often moves in lockstep — in both directions. [39]
- Macro uncertainty hasn’t vanished. Delayed government data, lingering inflation worries and elevated AI valuations mean volatility is likely to stay elevated into December, even if Monday’s action feels like a relief rally. [40]
This article is for informational and news purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Always consider your own risk tolerance and, if needed, consult a qualified professional before making investment decisions.
References
1. apnews.com, 2. www.reuters.com, 3. apnews.com, 4. apnews.com, 5. www.nasdaq.com, 6. www.nasdaq.com, 7. www.reuters.com, 8. www.reuters.com, 9. www.theverge.com, 10. www.latimes.com, 11. www.ft.com, 12. www.wsj.com, 13. www.nasdaq.com, 14. www.ft.com, 15. www.investopedia.com, 16. www.nasdaq.com, 17. www.nasdaq.com, 18. www.nasdaq.com, 19. www.nasdaq.com, 20. www.reuters.com, 21. www.nasdaq.com, 22. www.reuters.com, 23. www.reuters.com, 24. www.reuters.com, 25. www.reuters.com, 26. www.reuters.com, 27. www.ft.com, 28. www.ft.com, 29. www.nasdaq.com, 30. www.nasdaq.com, 31. www.nasdaq.com, 32. www.mcglonesuttner.com, 33. www.ft.com, 34. www.reuters.com, 35. www.nasdaq.com, 36. www.reuters.com, 37. www.nasdaq.com, 38. apnews.com, 39. www.ft.com, 40. www.reuters.com
