Stockโ Market Rallies as AI Optimism Returns,โข Retail Focuses on Black Friday
US stock markets โclosed higher on Friday, fueled by renewed optimism surrounding Artificial Intelligence and hopes for potential interest rate cuts. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.61% to 47,716.42 points, markingโข a weekly โincrease of 3.18%, though November overallโ saw limited gains. The S&P 500 rose 0.54% to 6,849.09 points, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.65% to 23,65.69โ points,โฃ bringing its year-to-date performanceโฃ in line with European markets.
Recent anxieties about anโค overheated AI โฃmarket appear to have subsided,with โinvestors embracing a “risk โฃon”โข approach.Analyst Henning Oligmรผller ofโ Landesbank Baden-Wรผrttemberg noted a shifting risk sentiment, likely bolsteredโค by signals fromโ the US Federal Reserve suggesting potentialโ interest rate reductions in December.
The focus also shifted โขto retail as the post-Thanksgivingโค “Black Friday” โคshopping period โbegan. Walmart saw a 1.3%โ increase, while AmazonS shares rose 1.8% as its “Black Friday week” of discounts โฃcommenced. Despite widespread price reductions, industry consultantโ Marshal Cohen of โCircana predicts spending will โคlikely remain flat compared to last year, with potentialโ for sales declines.
Technology stocksโ continued to perform strongly. Micron โฃbenefited fromโ a โขnew Japanese government budget aimed at bolstering AI and semiconductor development,gaining 2.7%.The investment is intendedโ to โคrevitalize Japan’s chip industry, including support for a new Micron manufacturing โขfacility in Hiroshima. Chipmaker Broadcom also continued its ascent, surpassing $400 per share for the โคfirst time, with a 1.4% increase, bringing โits market capitalization to โคnearly $1.9 trillion.
