The Nasdaq experienced a significant increase on Monday, marking the beginning of the holiday-shortened final week of a tumultuous November. Artificial intelligence hyperscalers and infrastructure developers experienced a recovery. Furthermore, market participants expressed optimism in response to comments from several senior Federal Reserve officials suggesting a potential interest rate reduction in December. All three major stock indexes concluded the trading session in positive territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%, equivalent to 202.86 points, closing at 46,448.27, with 15 components of the 30-stock index finishing in positive territory and 15 in negative. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite concluded at 22,872, reflecting a 2.7% increase, driven by robust performances from AI hyperscalers and infrastructure developers, marking its best daily performance since May 12.

The S&P 500 experienced an increase of 1.6%, translating to a rise of 102.13 points, concluding at 6,705.12, with nine of the 11 broad sectors closing in positive territory. Technology Select Sector SPDR appreciated 2.4%, followed by Utilities at 1.1%, Consumer Discretionary at 1.3%, and Communication Services at 1%, while Consumer Staples fell 1.2%. The CBOE Volatility Index declined 12.4%, settling at 20.52. Trading volume on Monday reached 18.32 billion shares, below the 20-session average of 19.94 billion, with advancers outnumbering decliners at 2.3-to-1 on the NYSE and 2.16-to-1 on the Nasdaq. On Nov. 18, Alphabet introduced its enhanced AI platform, Gemini 3, eight months after Gemini 2.5. Designed to require reduced user prompting, Gemini 3 represents Alphabet’s response to ChatGPT, and the company’s stock gained 6.3%.

AI chipset developers Broadcom, Micron Technology, and AMD saw gains of 11.1%, 8%, and 5.5%, respectively. On Nov. 24, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly indicated that her intention to endorse a rate cut at the December FOMC meeting, citing labor market risks as the key justification. On Nov. 21, New York Fed President John Williams stated his expectation for another 25-basis-point cut in December, which would mark the third consecutive rate cut of 2025. The current benchmark lending rate stands between 3.75% and 4%. Williams noted that monetary policy remains modestly restrictive and suggested further adjustments may be needed to align policy more closely with the neutral range to maintain equilibrium between the Fed’s dual mandates.

Williams emphasized that labor market fragility poses a greater risk to the economy than inflation concerns. The Fed is set to hold its final FOMC meeting of the year from December 9 to 10. In light of recent developments, the reports indicates an 81% likelihood of a 25-basis-point rate cut in December, compared to just 42.2% last week.