It was a quiet end to the holiday-shortened week. Today's session was abbreviated, with the stock market closing at 1 pm Eastern time. But while the price action in the main market indexes was muted, several single stocks made notable moves.
Many market participants stayed off the clock this Black Friday, with volume notably low in today's shortened session. As for the main indexes, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.3% at 35,390) and S&P 500 (+0.06% at 4,559) eked out modest gains, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.1% to 14,250.
Still, all three indexes closed higher on the week, bringing their weekly win streaks to four.
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
While most of today's headlines centered on the best Black Friday deals or projections of Black Friday sales (Adobe estimates $9.6 billion, up 5.7% year-over-year), there were several news items that held investors' attention. One was S&P Global's flash purchasing managers' index (PMI), which showed activity in the services sector hit a four-month high of 50.8 in November. Manufacturing activity, on the other hand, slumped to a three-month low of 49.9. Readings below 50 indicate contraction.
The data also showed that the private sector cut jobs for the first time since June 2020. "Job shedding has spread beyond the manufacturing sector, as services firms signaled a renewed drop in staff in November as cost savings were sought," said Sian Jones, principal economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, in the press release.
iRobot stock pops on Amazon news
Meanwhile, in single-stock news, iRobot (IRBT) stock surged 39.1% after a Reuters report indicated European Union antitrust authorities are prepared to approve Amazon.com's (AMZN, +0.02%) acquisition of the Roomba maker.
The deal was first announced in August 2022, when Amazon agreed to buy iRobot for $1.7 billion, although that purchase price was lowered by 15% in July 2023 to account for "the incurrence of iRobot's new debt," according to a press release.
Salesforce earnings, inflation data on deck
Next week will bring a jam-packed end to November. For one, a relatively busy earnings calendar features the likes of dollar-store chain Dollar Tree (DLTR, +1.5%) and Dow Jones stock Salesforce (CRM, +0.2%).
Additionally, speeches from a number of Federal Reserve officials are sprinkled throughout the week, while the Fed's preferred measure of inflation – the personal consumption and expenditures (PCE) index – will be released Thursday morning.
Related content
- When Is the Next CPI Report?
- Black Friday Weekend Shopping Starts With Huge Numbers
- Amazon Workers Strike In Europe On Black Friday
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Stable as Inflation, Tariff Fears EbbConstructive trade war talks and improving consumer expectations are a healthy combination for financial markets.
-
What Trump’s 'Big Beautiful Bill' Means for Your Utility BillsIf passed, the 'Big Beautiful Bill' could make home energy upgrades more expensive and raise monthly costs. Here's how much more you might pay and how to prepare.
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Stable as Inflation, Tariff Fears Ebb
Constructive trade war talks and improving consumer expectations are a healthy combination for financial markets.
-
Stock Market Today: Good Feelings and Solid Data Lift StocksResilience and de-escalation defined another generally positive day for financial markets.
-
Stock Market Today: Tesla Drags on Stocks Amid Musk-Trump FeudSentiment has soured between President Trump and his once-loyal ally, Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Brush Off Weak Jobs DataThe yields on the 2-year and 10-year Treasury notes fell sharply after a pair of weak economic reports.
-
Stock Market Today: Rally Extends on Good-Enough ExpectationsFiscal policy still has markets' attention, but taxes rather than tariffs and deficits rather than inflation are participants' primary focus.
-
Stock Market Today: Markets Move With Fresh Trade War WindsThe new uncertainty is the same as the old uncertainty, which is fine with investors, traders and speculators.
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Bounce as US-China Tensions EscalateStocks were volatile to end the week and the month amid concerns a trade truce between the U.S. and China is splintering.
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Chop as Judges Block Then Reinstate TariffsThe Trump administration has asked for and received a stay in a case that seems headed for the Supreme Court.
