Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market posted a solid start to the holiday-shortened week as renewed optimism around a December rate cut saw stocks advance in broad-based fashion with exceptional leadership from mega-cap names. Strength in mega-cap and tech stocks saw the Nasdaq Composite (+2.7%) outperform the S&P 500 (+1.6%) and DJIA (+0.4%), while the Russell 2000 (+1.9%) and S&P Mid Cap 400 (+1.0%) also secured solid gains. 

Fed Governor Christopher Waller (FOMC voting member) said he supports a December cut while emphasizing that any further easing should be determined on a meeting-by-meeting basis—a stance that helped lift sentiment today, much like it did on Friday. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly (nonvoting FOMC member) also signaled support for a December reduction, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The CME FedWatch Tool now assigns an 85.1% probability to a 25-basis-point cut at the December meeting, up from 71.0% on Friday.

Nine S&P 500 sectors close with gains, with mega-cap leadership pushing the communication services (+3.9%), information technology (+2.5%), and DJIA (+1.9%) to the top of today's leaderboard. The Vanguard mega-cap growth ETF finished 2.5% higher today as all of the "magnificent seven" names secured gains.

Tesla (TSLA 417.50, +26.41, +6.75%) was a mega-cap standout, while Alphabet (GOOG 318.47, +18.82, +6.28%) finished with a similar gain amid positive reception to its Gemini 3 AI model. 

NVIDIA (NVDA 182.55, +3.67, +2.05%) captured a much-needed gain after trading lower this morning, though Broadcom (AVGO 377.96, +37.76, +11.10%) and Micron (MU 223.93, +16.56, +7.99%) captured wider gains across the chipmaking cohort that saw some renewed buy-the-dip interest today after recent weakness. The PHLX Semiconductor Index finished with a 4.6% gain, though recent weakness keeps it 7.3% lower for the month of November.

Only the consumer staples (-1.3%) and energy (-0.3%) sectors closed lower. The defensive orientation of the consumer staples sector saw it lag as momentum names garnered more interest, though Tyson Foods (TSN 57.20, +3.53, +6.58%) still managed a nice gain following the company's official confirmation that it will shutter its Lexington, Nebraska, beef facility, a strategic move that validates earlier reporting by The Wall Street Journal.

Today's gains saw the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite briefly eclipse their 50-day moving averages, which had been violated on a closing basis last week for the first time since April. The indices would go on to close just beneath the key technical level, reflecting that while the market has certainly seen some confidence restored to mega-cap, AI, and other momentum plays, there is a hesitancy to fully embrace a risk-on posture.

U.S. Treasuries began the week with solid gains in longer tenors while the short end underperformed, ending slightly higher. The 2-year note underperformed, finishing unchanged at 3.51%, but still eked out a slight gain with some assistance from a solid $69 billion 2-year note sale. Meanwhile, the 10-year note yield settled down three basis points to 4.04%. 

There were no economic data releases today. 

• Nasdaq Composite: +18.4% YTD
• S&P 500: +14.0% YTD
• DJIA: +9.2% YTD
• Russell 2000: +8.3% YTD
• S&P Mid Cap 400: +3.0% YTD