US Stock Market Today, November 28, 2025: Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Rise on Black Friday as CME Futures Outage Clears

U.S. stocks were higher in late-morning trading on Friday, November 28, 2025, as Wall Street came back from the Thanksgiving holiday to a shortened Black Friday session defined by thin volumes, a major futures outage at CME Group, and renewed bets on a Federal Reserve rate cut in December. ^[1]

Snapshot: How the Major Indexes Are Trading Today

As of late morning Eastern time:

Dow Jones Industrial Average: up roughly 0.3–0.5%, adding around 120+ points, according to live index and ETF proxies. ^[2]
S&P 500: higher by about 0.2–0.3%, extending a four-day winning streak through the holiday week. ^[3]
Nasdaq Composite: leading with gains of about 0.3–0.4%, helped by heavyweight tech names such as Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet. ^[4]

Even after Friday’s bounce, November remains a “down month” for U.S. equities:

The Nasdaq is still down close to 2% in November, breaking a seven‑month winning streak. ^[5]
The S&P 500 is modestly lower for the month (around –0.4%), on track for its first monthly decline since April. ^[6]
The Dow is roughly flat to slightly negative for November, hovering near unchanged. ^[7]

Yet on a weekly basis, the story is much brighter:

The Nasdaq is up around 4% this week,
The S&P 500 has gained roughly 3%,
The Dow is ahead by about 2.5–3%,

putting all three on pace for their best week since June. ^[8]

Year to date, the S&P 500 is up about 16% in 2025, heading into a historically strong year‑end period. ^[9]

Black Friday Trading: Short Hours and Thin Liquidity

Friday’s session is shortened for the Black Friday holiday:

NYSE and Nasdaq: open 9:30 a.m. ET, close 1:00 p.m. ET.
Most U.S. bond markets: open 8:00 a.m. ET, close 2:00 p.m. ET. ^[10]

That compressed schedule tends to produce:

Lower trading volumes,
Occasionally sharper intraday swings, as even modest orders can move prices more than usual,
A strong focus on retail, e‑commerce, travel and payments stocks, which act as a real‑time readout on U.S. consumer demand. ^[11]

This year, those themes are magnified by elevated inflation and a still‑resilient consumer. A recent survey cited by BMO suggests Americans plan to spend roughly $2,800 on average this holiday season, up significantly from 2024, even as higher prices continue to squeeze budgets. ^[12]

CME Futures Outage: A Cooling Failure That Froze Global Markets

Before U.S. cash markets opened, traders woke up to one of the largest futures outages in years.

Overnight, CME Group’s Globex platform — the backbone for futures on equity indexes, Treasuries, FX and commodities — went dark due to a cooling issue at a CyrusOne data center in Chicago. ^[13]
The blackout halted trading for more than 10–11 hours, leaving investors without benchmark prices for key contracts and forcing many risk‑management desks into what one report described as “flying blind.” ^[14]

By early U.S. morning:

CME said Globex would pre‑open at 7:00 a.m. Central Time and fully reopen at 7:30 a.m. CT, a timetable confirmed across Reuters and market bulletins. ^[15]
By the time Wall Street’s cash session got underway, trading in stock, bond and FX futures had largely resumed, easing fears of a prolonged disruption. ^[16]

The incident immediately hit CME Group’s own stock, which slipped in early trading before stabilizing. ^[17]

The CME outage also revived concerns about the fragility of electronic market infrastructure. A separate Reuters feature today recapped decades of exchange outages worldwide, from software bugs to cyberattacks — and even animals damaging equipment — that have periodically rattled investor confidence. ^[18]

Fed Rate‑Cut Bets: The Backbone of the Rally

Behind the scenes, the main driver of this week’s stock rebound has been a sharp swing in expectations for Federal Reserve policy.

Fed funds futures now imply roughly an 80–85% probability of a 25‑basis‑point rate cut at the December 9–10 meeting, up from around 30–40% just a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool. ^[19]
Several senior Fed officials, including Governor Christopher Waller and New York Fed President John Williams, have signaled support for a December cut, citing a softer labor market and the risk of tightening policy too far. ^[20]

At the same time, a 43‑day U.S. government shutdown earlier this month has delayed or canceled many key data releases, forcing policymakers to rely on a patchier set of indicators than usual. ^[21]

Even with that data “fog,” markets are betting that:

Lower rates in 2026 will relieve pressure on rate‑sensitive sectors such as small caps, real estate and parts of consumer discretionary,
And will help broaden gains beyond the mega‑cap AI and tech names that have dominated returns so far this year. ^[22]

Those expectations are also visible in other asset classes:

The U.S. dollar index is heading for its worst week since July,
Gold is up roughly 4–5% for the month, on track for a fourth straight monthly gain as investors seek hedges against policy uncertainty. ^[23]

AI and Big Tech: From Market Darlings to Question Marks

Tech and AI‑linked stocks remain central to the story on Wall Street:

Alphabet (Google’s parent) has emerged as one of the best‑performing mega‑caps of 2025, with its market value hovering around $4 trillion after strong early reviews for its Gemini 3 AI model. ^[24]
A recent report that Meta Platforms may spend billions on Google’s AI chips has shaken confidence in Nvidia, long the poster child of the AI hardware trade, and underscored how quickly perceived “winners” can change in this space. ^[25]

Despite this week’s rebound, November has been rough for tech:

Concerns about whether massive AI spending will translate into near‑term profits sparked one of the sharpest pullbacks since April. ^[26]
The Nasdaq remains down about 2% for the month, even after today’s gains. ^[27]

Among individual movers:

Alphabet: initially extended gains after the Gemini 3 launch, briefly rising about 2% at the open on Wednesday before paring back; today shares are only modestly changed as traders digest lofty valuations. ^[28]
Robinhood Markets: up another ~0.5% today after surging nearly 11% on Wednesday on news it will expand into prediction markets, a move investors see as a new revenue stream. ^[29]
SanDisk: jumped over 4% as the flash‑memory maker officially joined the S&P 500 following its spin‑off from Western Digital earlier this year. ^[30]
Tilray Brands: plunging roughly 14–19% after confirming a 1‑for‑10 reverse stock split taking effect next week, a step aimed at shoring up its share price and cutting administrative costs. ^[31]

Wall Street strategists warn that if doubts about AI profitability timelines continue to build into December, the broader market could face renewed pressure, given how concentrated gains have been in a handful of mega‑cap tech names. ^[32]

Holiday Consumer Check‑In: Airlines and Retailers in Focus

With Black Friday in full swing, traders are watching travel and retail stocks for early clues about the health of the U.S. consumer.

Airlines

The FAA expects the busiest Thanksgiving travel period in 15 years, with more than 360,000 flights projected over the extended holiday window. ^[33]

Airline shares are reflecting that demand:

Alaska Air: up about 0.4%,
United Airlines and JetBlue: each up around 0.3% in early trading. ^[34]

Stronger bookings and high load factors have supported airline stocks throughout the week, even as fuel prices and labor costs remain in focus.

Retailers & E‑Commerce

Among consumer bellwethers:

Walmart, Target and Amazon are all slightly higher today, helped by expectations for resilient Black Friday and Cyber Monday demand. ^[35]
Macy’s is trading slightly lower, as investors worry legacy department stores may lose further ground to discounters and online rivals. ^[36]

Despite solid consumer spending, seasonal hiring has been surprisingly weak:

Retailers are expected to add just 265,000–365,000 seasonal workers this year, down sharply from about 442,000 in 2024, according to data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
That would mark the lowest level of holiday hiring since 2012, even as searches for seasonal jobs are up roughly 27% year over year. ^[37]

The contrast — strong spending, but leaner staffing — underscores management’s focus on cost control and automationafter several volatile years.

Economic Data: Quiet Day After a Choppy Month

There are no major U.S. economic releases or blockbuster earnings reports scheduled for today, a typical pattern for the post‑Thanksgiving session. ^[38]

But earlier in the week, markets digested a mix of data:

Jobless claims slipped to around 216,000, suggesting the labor market remains reasonably firm despite signs of cooling. ^[39]
Durable goods orders rose around 0.5% in the latest reading, shy of economists’ expectations but still consistent with moderate business investment. ^[40]

On balance, the data — combined with Fed communication — has reinforced expectations for slower but still positive growth, giving the Fed scope to cut rates without signaling panic about the economy.

Looking ahead to next week, investors will get fresh reads on:

Manufacturing and services activity,
Consumer sentiment,
Earnings from Salesforce, Kroger, Dollar Tree and other companies that provide a cross‑section of business and consumer demand. ^[41]

With many official statistics delayed by the recent government shutdown, these private‑sector reports may carry more weight than usual.

What Today’s Moves Mean for Investors

For market participants trying to make sense of today’s action, a few themes stand out:

Black Friday is bullish so far, but the month is still negative.
Stocks are higher today and on track for their best week since June, yet November is shaping up as the first down month for the S&P 500 since April and a notable setback for the Nasdaq.
The Fed remains the key catalyst.
An ~85% implied chance of a December rate cut has underpinned this week’s rebound across equities, metals and risk assets more broadly — while pushing the dollar toward its weakest week since July. ^[42]
AI and mega‑cap tech are still in the driver’s seat — for better or worse.
Alphabet, Nvidia and their peers continue to dictate index‑level moves. If doubts about AI monetization grow, volatility could re‑emerge quickly.
The CME outage is a reminder that plumbing matters.
Friday’s long futures blackout shows how reliant modern markets are on a handful of critical infrastructure providers — and how operational glitches can ripple across asset classes.
Holiday spending looks strong, but hiring is cautious.
Consumers appear willing to spend more than last year, yet retailers are hiring fewer seasonal workers and leaning harder on productivity and technology to protect margins.

Final Note

This article is a news‑style overview of U.S. stock market developments on November 28, 2025, based on intraday data and reporting available at the time of writing. Market levels and performance figures may evolve by the closing bell. Nothing here is investment advice; investors should consider their own financial situation and consult a qualified professional before making trading or investment decisions.

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