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
-
10 Best High-Yield Savings Accounts to Grow Your Tax RefundIf you're getting a tax refund this year and want to grow it, here are the best high-yield savings accounts to make it happen.
-
TurboTax: Features, Pricing and Filing OptionsIs TurboTax worth it in 2025? Explore the pros, cons, pricing tiers and standout features of this popular tax software to see if it fits your filing needs.
-
Stock Market Today: Markets Celebrate Trump's Tariff DétenteConsumer discretionary stocks led the 11 S&P 500 sector groups well into the green.
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Swing Higher After Early SlumpNegative earnings reactions for Nike, FedEx and Micron kept pressure on the main indexes, though.
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Struggle After Big Fed GainsAn unexpected rise in existing home sales couldn't save stocks on Thursday.
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Enjoy a Fed Day Relief RallyThe question now is whether Jerome Powell and other policymakers can get the balance right given all the new noise.
-
The Free-Lunch Strategy to Reduce Risk From Tech StocksA recent rout in tech stocks has some investors thinking more defensively. This "free-lunch portfolio" strategy can help.
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Skid Into Another Risk-Off TurnThe promise of the AI revolution can't overcome flickering hopes for a "Fed put."
-
Stock Market Today: Dow Adds 353 Points Despite Soft Retail SalesInvestors and traders shake off another set of shaky economic numbers and send 10 of 11 sectors higher on Monday.
-
CoreWeave IPO: Should You Buy CRWV Stock?The CoreWeave IPO will mark the biggest public offering of the year, with the AI cloud company expected to start trading on the Nasdaq in late March.
