Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., Nov. 26, 2025.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Stocks rose on Wednesday, putting the major averages on pace for their fourth straight day of gains ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 364 points, or 0.8%. The S&P 500 also climbed 0.8%, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.9%.
The broader market’s gains were bolstered by artificial intelligence player Oracle, which jumped 4%. Nvidia shares moved up 1%, recovering from a recent pullback, while fellow “Magnificent Seven” member Microsoft also traded 1% higher.
Stocks are coming off a winning session despite volatile trading. The 30-stock Dow gained more than 660 points and logged a third consecutive positive day. Several tech stocks also climbed higher to lift the broader market. Alphabet hit fresh record highs on a report that Meta Platforms is considering using the Google parent’s TPU chips in 2027. Chipmaker Nvidia shed more than 2.5%, meanwhile.
“Stocks are trying to stage a comeback from the past few weeks of declines, suggesting that dip buyers are still out in full force,” said Clark Bellin, president and chief investment officer of Bellwether Wealth. “The depth of the market’s pullback in November was only about 4% from the late October high, which is well below the typical 10% correction threshold.”
“While we expect the stock market to revisit these highs, there isn’t an obvious upside catalyst to propel the market between now and the end of the year,” Bellin added.
Investors continue to monitor catalysts that could affect the Federal Reserve’s next interest rate move. Traders are pricing in a more than 80% chance of a quarter percentage point cut from the Fed in December, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC earlier Tuesday that there’s a “very good chance” that Trump will “make an announcement before Christmas” on who will be the next Fed chair. While he said he was interviewing candidates, expectations are shifting toward White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, after Bloomberg reported he had emerged as a frontrunner for the job. Hassett is viewed as someone more likely to push for lower rates.
Looking at the overall picture, November has proven to be a difficult month for stocks. All three U.S. indexes are tracking for a losing month as concerns about elevated valuations have cooled the momentum behind some high-flying tech stocks. The S&P 500 is down around 1% in November, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite has lost about 3%. The Dow has declined roughly 1% month to date.
The stock market will be closed Thursday for Thanksgiving. Trading will resume with a shortened trading day Friday, when the market will close at 1 p.m. ET.
