S&P 500 – 6,602.99 (+0.98%)

Dow Jones – 46,245.41 (+1.08%)

NASDAQ – 22,273.08 (+0.88%)

Markets Rebound

• U.S. equities bounced back on Friday, reclaiming most of Thursday’s losses that had pushed the S&P 500 down 5% from its October peak.
• Bond yields fell and oil prices slipped after U.S. pressure for a Russia-Ukraine peace proposal, though losses narrowed as Ukrainian and European officials pushed back.

Apple Leadership Transition

• Apple is preparing for a leadership change, with John Ternus poised to succeed Tim Cook.

U.S. Retail Sales

• Retail sales remain resilient amid inflation and job market concerns.
• Gap surged after beating earnings expectations and reporting 5% comparable-store sales growth; the retailer also raised its fiscal 2026 revenue outlook above consensus.
• Intuit climbed after topping analyst forecasts for both earnings and revenue.

Federal Reserve Outlook

• New York Fed President John Williams signaled room for “near-term” rate cuts.
• Market-implied odds of a December rate cut dropped to 35% last week but rose toward 60% following Williams’ comments.
• Fed policymakers face limited fresh information ahead of the December 10 FOMC meeting due to postponed economic data releases.

Labor Market & Sentiment

• September jobs increased by 119K, above expectations of 51K; August was revised down from +22K to -4K.
• Unemployment rate ticked up to 4.4%, slightly above expectations, likely due to higher labor force participation.
• University of Michigan Sentiment (final) rose to 51.0 in November from 50.3, second-lowest on record.
• Year-ahead inflation expectations eased slightly to 4.5%; longer-term expectations dropped to 3.4%.
• Initial jobless claims fell to 220K for the week ending Nov. 15; continuing claims rose to a four-year high of 1.957M.

Meta Moves into Energy Trading

• Meta Platforms is exploring electricity trading to support its AI data centers, allowing long-term purchase commitments and resale of surplus power.

COP30 Climate Summit

• The COP30 summit reached an agreement, but details on fossil fuel phase-out remain unclear.

Tech & Crypto Highlights

• Nvidia saw a pullback despite strong quarterly results, driven by technical factors and broader risk-off sentiment.
• Bitcoin slid toward $84,000; Coinbase and Circle Internet gained, while MicroStrategy declined.
• Oklo (nuclear energy) and Rigetti Computing (quantum computing) rose, reflecting appetite for higher-risk assets.

Market Technicals & Volatility

• Only 32% of S&P 500 components traded above their 50-day moving averages, the weakest level since April.
• Nasdaq experienced an “outside day” pattern, with higher highs and lower lows, signaling potential additional pressure.
• S&P 500 closed below its 100-day moving average for the first time since May, now more than 5% off its late-October high.
• VIX climbed above 26, nearing last month’s high of 29, indicating increased hedging activity.

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“Artificial intelligence is the new electricity.” — Andrew Ng

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Notable Stocks

• Coreweave (CRWV)
• Apple (AAPL)
• Nvidia (NVDA)
• Meta Platforms (META)
• Gap (GAP)

Weekly Notables

Apple’s Likely Next CEO, John Ternus, Faces Enormous Shoes to Fill

Tim Cook has led Apple (AAPL) for 14 years, overseeing its rise past a $4 trillion market cap and driving annual revenue close to $500 billion. But at 65, Cook is nearing the end of his tenure, and according to the Financial Times, Apple is preparing for a leadership transition as early as next year to give his successor time to settle in before major events like WWDC. Replacing Cook — who joined Apple in 1998 at Steve Jobs’s request — is no small task. Yet one name consistently tops the shortlist: John Ternus.

Meta Explores Electricity Trading to Power Its Data Centers

Meta Platforms Inc. is looking to expand into electricity trading as part of its strategy to accelerate the construction of new power plants for its data centers. Bloomberg reports that both Meta and Microsoft are seeking federal approval to trade power, following Apple, which has already secured permission. Meta says the move would allow it to make long-term electricity purchase commitments from new plants while reducing risk by reselling surplus power on wholesale markets.

Earnings Spotlight

Earnings Spotlight: Zscaler (ZS)

Zscaler is scheduled to report its first-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Nov. 25, 2025. Zscaler anticipates revenues between $772 million and $774 million for first-quarter fiscal 2026. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ZS’ fiscal first-quarter revenues is pegged at $773.4 million, indicating year-over-year growth of 23.2%. For the fiscal first quarter, the company expects non-GAAP earnings per share in the band of 85-86 cents. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ZS’ fiscal first-quarter earnings is pegged at 85 cents per share, which remained unchanged over the past 60 days, indicating a year-over-year decline of 10.4%.

What's Ahead

Economic:

• Monday (Nov. 24): no reports
• Tuesday (Nov. 25): Consumer Confidence, Producer Price Index (PPI), FHFA Housing Price Index, Pending Home Sales, SA&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index
• Wednesday (Nov. 26): Advertised International Trade in Goods, Advanced Retail Inventories, Advanced Wholesale Inventories, Chicago PMI, Durable Orders, EIA Crude Oil Inventories, Q3 GDP – Second Estimate, MBA Mortgage Applications Index, New Home Sales, PCE Prices, Personal Income Personal Spending, Continuing Claims, EIA Natural Gas Inventories, Initial Claims
• Thursday (Nov. 27): no reports
• Friday (Nov. 28): no reports

Earnings:

• Monday (Nov. 24): Agilent Technologies Inc. (A), Amentum Holdings Inc. (AMTM), Corporation America Airports SA (CAAP), Keysight Technologies Inc. (KEYS), Semtech Corp. (SMTC), Symbotic Inc. (SYM), Woodward Inc. (WWD), Zoom Communications Inc. (ZM)
• Tuesday (Nov. 25): Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA), Analog Devices Inc. (ADI), Autodesk Inc. (ADSK), Best Buy Co. (BBY), Burlington Stores Inc. (BURL), Dell Technologies Inc. (DELL), Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. (DKS), NetApp Inc. (NTAP), NIO Inc. (NIO), Workday Inc. (WDAY), Zscaler Inc. (ZS)
• Wednesday (Nov. 26): Banco Macro SA (BMA), CMB Tech NV (CMBT), Deere & Co. (DE), Ehang Holdings Ltd. (EH), Li Auto Inc. (LI)
• Thursday (Nov. 27): no reports
• Friday (Nov. 28): no reports