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News of the day for Dec. 1, 2025

Stock futures are pointing to a weak open after major indexes posted their biggest weekly gains since June last week; bitcoin and crypto-related stocks are tumbling amid the return of risk-off sentiment; Cyber Monday deals are in focus after last week's Black Friday sales kicked off the holiday shopping season; President Donald Trump says he's decided who he will select to replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who is due to speak later today; and Airbus shares are sliding after the aircraft maker said many of its planes received a surprise software patch over one of the busiest travel weekends of the year. Here's what you need to know.

Stock futures are losing ground this morning as investors reassess their tolerance for risk after the market posted solid gains during the holiday-shortened trading week. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.5% recently, while those linked to the benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 0.7% and 1%, respectively. The Dow and S&P 500 both gained more than 3% last week, while the Nasdaq surged nearly 5%, as each of the major indexes turned in their best weekly performance since June. After rising in the back half of last week, bitcoin is sinking again, trading around 86,000 and bringing some crypto-related stocks down with it. Gold was up 0.8% at $4,290 an ounce, trading at its highest level in six weeks, while WTI crude oil futures rose more than 1% to $59.20 per barrel. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which affects borrowing costs on all sorts of loans, was at 4.04%, up from 4.02% on Friday.

Bitcoin is tumbling as investors' appetite for risk wanes, pulling crypto-related stocks down sharply this morning. Bitcoin was trading at $86,000 recently, down from a high this weekend of above $91,000. Shares of Strategy (MSTR), the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, were down more than 5% recently, as were shares of crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN). Bitcoin miners Mara Holdings (MARA) and Riot Platforms (RIOT) each dropped more than 6%. The price of bitcoin swung wildly in November, trading above $110,000 early in the month before dropping as low as about $82,000 a few weeks later.

Holiday shoppers will be on the lookout for more deals, as Black Friday sales that have taken place in recent weeks will now give way to online-focused sales for Cyber Monday. One estimate from Salesforce (CRM) projected that spending from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday will hit $78 billion. A recent survey also found that Americans are expecting to spend an average of nearly $3,000 on the holidays this year, and retail sales for November and December are forecast to surpass $1 trillion. Others have found that Americans started shopping early, and expected to spend more time seeking out deals as tariffs make holiday shopping more expensive.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak as part of a panel discussion on economic policy Monday evening. Investors have grown increasingly confident that the Fed will cut its benchmark rate next week when the central bank's policy committee meets. Traders are pricing in about an 87% chance of a rate cut this month, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump, who has been highly critical of Powell, has said he's made his selection for the next Fed Chair. One of Trump's economic advisors, Kevin Hassett, is reportedly considered to be a frontrunner for the job, as he will likely push for lower rates. Powell's term is scheduled to end in May.

Shares of Airbus are down sharply on their home exchange in Paris as a pair of factors pull the airplane maker lower. The company said that it recently discovered that "intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls" for its A320 family of aircraft, and that most of its 6,000 planes have received the necessary software patch to fix the issue. Also dragging Airbus' stock Monday morning is a report from Reuters, citing industry sources saying a quality issue has been discovered with "several dozen" A320-family aircraft. The issue is delaying delivery of some planes, though there's no indication it's affecting planes currently in service. Airbus did not immediately respond to a request for comment. U.S. airline stocks, including American Airlines (AAL), United Airlines (UAL) and Delta Air Lines (DAL), were losing ground before the opening bell.

After a strong, short Thanksgiving week for U.S. stocks, a busy schedule of economic indicators and corporate earnings awaits.

The Federal Reserve's favored measure of inflation and private sector payrolls for November could highlight the week, though market watchers will have to wait until later in December to get the government's latest monthly jobs report, which was delayed by the government shutdown. Reports on consumer credit and sentiment, along with fresh data on the manufacturing and services sectors, are also expected.

Several large tech companies, including customer relationship management software leader Salesforce, cybersecurity provider CrowdStrike, and Marvell Technology, are set to report earnings this week. Reports from dollar stores Dollar Tree and Dollar General could provide insights on consumer spending.

Read to the bottom for our calendar of key events—and one more thing.

This is set be another important week for America's retailers, with online sales from the five-day stretch from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday expected to total $78 billion, according to Salesforce.

Data scheduled for release Friday could also shine a spotlight on inflation and how consumers are feeling, with the delayed PCE Price Index for September and first reading of the University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey for December. Later on Friday, the Federal Reserve’s consumer credit report could offer insights into how much debt American shoppers are taking on.

While some fresh data on private payrolls will become available this week, investors will have to wait a bit longer for the government's next monthly jobs report after its release was pushed back to Dec. 16. The private-sector ADP employment report, scheduled for Wednesday, comes after a stronger than expected report in October.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is set to deliver remarks on Monday evening amid growing optimism about a rate cut when the central bank meets the following week.

Salesforce’s earnings on Wednesday could inject more enthusiasm into the AI trade after the software provider laid out a strong revenue forecast pointing to strong demand for its AI offerings. Custom semiconductor solutions provider Marvell Technology, database provider MongoDB, and data storage firm Pure Storage are also set to release results that could reflect a boost from AI-related demand.

Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike reports on Tuesday after it delivered a better-than-expected forecast for annual recurring revenue in the prior quarter. Security firms Snowflake and Okta are also scheduled to report this week. Results from dollar stores Dollar Tree and Dollar General could offer more insights on shifting consumer preferences. 

Quick Links: Recap Last Week’s Trading | Latest Markets News 

Monday, Dec. 1

• Cyber Monday
• ISM manufacturing PMI (November)
• More Data to Watch: S&P final U.S. manufacturing PMI (November)
• Federal Reserve Officials Speaking: Fed Chair Jerome Powell
• Key Earnings: MongoDB (MDB)

Tuesday, Dec. 2

• Federal Reserve Officials Speaking: Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman
• Key Earnings: CrowdStrike (CRWD), Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS), Marvell Technology (MRVL), Pure Storage (PSTG), Okta (OKTA), GitLab (GTLB)

Wednesday, Dec. 3

• ADP employment (November)
• More Data to Watch: Import price index (September), ISM services PMI (November), S&P final U.S. services PMI (November)
• Key Earnings: Salesforce (CRM), Royal Bank of Canada (RY), Snowflake (SNOW), Dollar Tree (DLTR)

Thursday, Dec. 4

• Initial jobless claims (Week ending Nov. 29)
• Federal Reserve Officials Speaking: Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman
• Key Earnings: Toronto Dominion Bank (TD), Bank of Montreal (BMO), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM), Kroger (KR), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Ulta Beauty (ULTA), Dollar General(DG)

Friday, Dec. 5

• PCE Price Index (September)
• More Data to Watch: Consumer sentiment - preliminary (December), Consumer credit (October)
• Key Earnings: Victoria’s Secret (VSCO)

The holiday season is here and if your plans include giving gifts to family and friends, you could qualify for a tax break. Investopedia’s Trina Paul has more on the rules and limits for the IRS’s gift tax exclusion here.

This article has been updated since it was first published to include additional information.

• Intel shares surged Friday after an analyst's social media post added fuel to rumors that iPhone maker Apple could become a customer. 
• Shares of Intel have doubled in value in 2025 after a flurry of high-profile deals, including a partnership with Nvidia.

Could Intel be closer to scoring a deal with iPhone maker Apple?

The chipmaker's shares surged Friday as an analyst added fuel to rumors that the iPhone maker could become a new customer for the chipmaker. Shares of Intel (INTC) popped over 10% during Friday's shortened trading session to lead gains on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. (Read Investopedia's daily markets coverage here.) 

The likelihood of Apple (AAPL) becoming a new customer for Intel "has recently improved significantly," TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, citing industry surveys, posted on X Friday, suggesting that Intel could start shipping Apple processors as soon as 2027.

A deal with Apple could boost confidence in a turnaround for Intel, which still faces persistent worries about its ability to secure long-term commitments to its manufacturing business.

Apple and Intel did not respond to Investopedia's requests for comment in time for publication.

Shares of Intel have roughly doubled in value this year after a flurry of recent deals, including a partnership with AI chip leader Nvidia (NVDA). Still, they remain well off their historical highs as the company is still working to convince investors regarding a sustainable turnaround in its business.

One of those challenges continues to be securing new customers for its manufacturing operation. The deal with Nvidia did not include commitments to Intel's foundry, raising speculation about whether the relationship could expand later or if the lack of foundry commitments could point to troubles convincing customers.

A deal with former Intel customer Apple could go a long way in helping assuage those concerns. Shares of Apple rose a bit less than 0.5% on Friday.

• The possibility of adding a new Big Tech customer helped lift an American chipmaker's stock on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, while a recently hot pharmaceutical stock cooled. 
  
• Intel stock pushed higher after an analyst suggested the company could become a foundry supplier for Apple processors.
• Eli Lilly shares turned lower, giving back some of the gains that recently lifted the stock to a $1 trillion market capitalization.

A major U.S. chipmaker got a boost from speculation that it could win a new Big Tech customer, while a high-flying pharmaceutical stock reversed some of its recent gains.

Major U.S. equities indexes rose in Friday's shortened trading session to register their best week since June, though the Nasdaq logged its first losing month since March. The S&P 500 rose 0.5%, the Dow added 0.6%, and the Nasdaq finished 0.7% higher Friday. See here for more from Investopedia on the day's market moves. 

Intel (INTC) shares surged 10.2% to post the S&P 500's top performance in the shortened trading session. The jump came after an analyst suggested that Intel could become a foundry supplier for Apple (AAPL) processors, adding fuel to rumors earlier in the year about a possible deal with the iPhone maker.

Shares of Sandisk (SNDK), a maker of flash memory cards and solid-state drives, gained close to 4% as the stock made its debut in the S&P 500 Friday. Inclusion in the benchmark index can increase demand for a stock from index-tracking funds and new audiences of investors. Sandisk stock has soared since the business completed its spin-off from Western Digital (WDC) in February, boosted by optimistic forecasts for memory pricing amid strong AI-driven demand.

Natural gas futures prices moved higher after temperatures dipped over Thanksgiving, with temperatures forecasted to remain below average over the coming week, providing a strong demand signal for the key heating fuel. Shares of natural gas producer and pipeline operator EQT (EQT) gained over 3%.

Cryptocurrency prices gained, with the price of Bitcoin (BTCUSD) moving back above $90,000 after spending around a week below that level. Stocks with exposure to cryptocurrency markets rose along with the price of Bitcoin Friday. Shares of crypto exchange operator Coinbase Global (COIN) climbed about 3%.

Eli Lilly (LLY) shares slipped 2.6%, giving back a portion of the recent gains that helped the drugmaker become the first-ever healthcare company to reach a market capitalization of over $1 trillion. Sales of the company's popular weight-loss drugs have underpinned the push higher. Despite Friday's decline, Lilly stock is up around 39% for 2025.

Several AI darlings came under pressure in the shortened trading session. Nvidia (NVDA) shares, which fell earlier in the week amid concerns about competitive threats from other firms, slid another 1.8% Friday. Shares of database and networking software giant Oracle (ORCL) lost 1.5%.

• Tilray Brands shares tumbled Friday ahead of a 1-for-10 reverse stock split set set to take effect after markets close next Monday, Dec. 1. 
• In a reverse stock split, a company cuts the number of its outstanding shares and increases the per-share price proportionally. 

Nearly six months ago, Tilray Brands (TLRY) stockholders approved a 1-for-10 reverse stock split. Now the cannabis firm has given a date it will take effect, and shares are tanking.

The stock lost over a fifth of its value in Friday's shortened trading session, bringing its losses in 2025 to nearly 40%. (Read our daily markets coverage here.) 

Tilray Brands, which describes itself as "a global lifestyle and consumer packaged goods company at the forefront of the global cannabis, beverage, and wellness industries," announced late Wednesday that the reverse split will take effect after markets close next Monday, Dec. 1. When markets open Tuesday, its shares will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis under the same ticker symbol, but with a new CUSIP number, 88688T209.

Starting Tuesday, every 10 shares of common stock will be automatically combined and converted into one, reducing the number of outstanding from about 1.16 billion shares to 116 million. Fractional shares will not be issued, Tilray said.

In a reverse stock split, a company cuts the number of its outstanding shares and increases the per-share price proportionally. While the move won't change the overall value of Tilray investors' holdings, it will boost the price of each individual share.

Tilray said it expects the change, which Tilray's stockholders had approved at a special meeting back in June, could make its stock "more attractive to institutional shareholders" and reduce expenditures associated with its annual meeting, "resulting in up to $1 million in cost savings on an annual run rate basis."

However, reverse stocks splits are typically viewed as a bearish signal by investors, as they could suggest a lack of confidence in the stock's upward trajectory. Shares of Tilray had been up nearly 60% for the year as recently as Oct. 9, two months after President Donald Trump said the White House would be "looking at reclassification" of marijuana, but have fallen since amid regulatory uncertainty as no final rule has been adopted.

Gold has glittered this year. And there's good reason to expect the precious metal to continue hitting record highs in the year ahead.

Several Wall Street firms issued reports this week showing that analysts and investors believe the price of gold will rise in 2026, with some forecasting it could hit $5,000 per troy ounce, implying upside of about 20%. Many of the factors that have led investors to pour money into the traditional safe-haven asset are likely to remain in play, experts say.

Gold has hit a series of record highs this year amid economic and geopolitical uncertainty that isn't expected to subside anytime soon. Some prominent investors have recently recommended that investors should increase their allocation to gold. Meanwhile, many Americans have rushed to sell gold jewelry to take advantage of high prices.

Goldman Sachs on Friday said that nearly 70% of institutional investors expect gold prices to continue rising, with 36% saying the price will top $5,000 by the end of 2026, according to a survey this month of more than 900 clients. Investors cited continued buying by central banks around the world and fiscal concerns as the biggest factors contributing to gold's rise.

Gold was trading at $4,220 an ounce Friday morning. (Read Investopedia's full coverage of today's trading here.)That's down from a record high just below $4,400 set in October, but still 60% higher than where it started 2025. Gold's price surge has far outpaced the performance of the benchmark S&P 500 stock index.

The weakness of the U.S. dollar, which has lost ground this year as concerns about rising U.S. government debt have grown, is also underpinning support for gold, along with concerns about geopolitical instability and stock market volatility.

Deutsche Bank this week raised its 2026 gold price forecast to $4,450 from $4,000 previously, projecting a range of $3,950-$4,950.

"Third quarter supply-demand data supports a continued central bank bid. The positive structural picture shows inelastic demand from central banks and ETF investment diverting supply from the jewelry market," Deutsche Bank said in a note to clients. "Also, overall growth in demand outpaces supply."

UBS believes that further weakening in the dollar, lower bond market returns, geopolitical uncertainty and fiscal concerns will all continue providing support for gold. The bank maintains an 'Attractive' stance on gold with a $4,500 price target for mid-year 2026, according to a Friday report.

Shares of U.S. chipmaker Intel were leading the S&P higher as stocks edged upward on a holiday-shortened Black Friday session expected to be light on trading volume and corporate news.

All three of the major indexes were modestly higher, led by the blue-chip Dow, in late-morning trading. It's an abridged day for traders after yesterday's holiday break: The stock market closes at 1 p.m., while the bond market is set to close an hour later. (Read Investopedia's full coverage of today's action here.)

Intel (INTC) was the biggest mover, on a percentage basis, on the S&P 500 in either direction, rising about 8%. Drugmaker Eli Lilly (LLY) was the biggest decliner, slipping close to 3%.

A few consumer-focused companies were among the top movers on Black Friday, a vital in-store and online shopping day. Brown-Forman (BF.A, BF.B), known for Jack Daniel's whiskeys and Herradura tequilas, among other things, was up 1.5%, while athletic apparel company Lululemon (LULU) was more than 2% higher. Consumer electronics retailer Best Buy (BBY), which reported its latest quarterly financial results earlier this week, was more than 1% lower.

Some high-profile stocks associated with the AI buildout were in the red today. Nvidia (NVDA) was recently down 1.8%, while Oracle (ORCL) was off 2.2%. Both companies' shares were among the bigger decliners in the S&P 500. Broadly speaking, Big Tech was creeping upward: The Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (MAGS) was recently up 0.3%.

Shares of crypto exchange Coinbase Global (COIN) were recently up nearly 4%. Cathie Wood's ARK funds have reported purchases of the stock this week; the price of Bitcoin was recently changing hands around $92,000 as the leading cryptocurrency extended its bounce off recent lows. Bitcoin buyer Strategy (MSTR) was up 2.4%.

• Sandisk today joined the S&P 500, making it the latest company to join the benchmark U.S. index.
• The company's shares have been big gainers this year, pulling its market capitalization north of $31 billion.

Shares of Sandisk climbed Friday as the data storage company joined the benchmark S&P 500 index.

Sandisk's (SNDK) stock jumped close to 11% Friday morning before paring back much of its early gains. Its shares, which have been lifted by demand driven by the AI boom, are among the hottest around this year; the company was spun off from Western Digital (WDC) in February, and the stock is up more than 500% since. The company's market capitalization is above $31 billion, according to Visible Alpha data.

Inclusion in a major index like the S&P 500 can be seen as a boon for a company's shares. In some cases investors even buy a non-member's stock in advance of an expected addition—at times finding themselves disappointed when another company is chosen.

The spot in the S&P 500 was available because of the completion of Omnicom Group's (OMC) acquisition of Interpublic Group (IPG) earlier this week. The two previous companies to join the index, Solstice Advance Materials (SOLS) and Qnity (Q), were also the products of spinoffs.

Investors generally cheer the addition of companies' shares to the S&P 500 and other major indexes, which is seen as giving them a short-term bump. Read Investopedia's full coverage of today's holiday-shortened trading here.

A few other index changes are also happening today. PTC Therapeutics (PTCT) is taking Sandisk's spot in the S&P SmallCap 600; Upwork (UPWK) is also joining that index, replacing Premier, which was taken private.

News of the day for Nov. 28, 2025

Stock futures pointed higher before a tech outage halted trading ahead of the shortened trading session; stock markets will close at 1 p.m. ET today, while bond markets end trading at 2 p.m. ET; major retailers are on the rise ahead of today’s Black Friday shopping day; and the SEC is investigating investment bank Jefferies (JEF) over its ties to bankrupt auto parts maker First Brands Group. Here's what you need to know today.

With stock futures pointing higher of a tech outage, the major indexes could be on pace for their biggest weekly gains since June. Futures associated with the Nasdaq were up 0.2% before the outage. The tech-focused index has added about 4.2% for the first three sessions of the holiday-shortened week. S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures edged about 0.1% higher recently, with those indexes up 3.2% and 2.6%, respectively, for the week so far. The price of Bitcoin traded around $91,400 after breaking the $90,000 level on Wednesday. Gold futures moved up to $4,221 an ounce. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which impacts a range of consumer loans, was little changed at around 4%. Oil futures moved higher to $59.08 a barrel.

Futures trading on some Chicago Mercantile Exchange markets ground to a halt over a data center issue. “Due to a cooling issue at CyrusOne data centers, our markets are currently halted. Support is working to resolve the issue in the near term and will advise clients of Pre-Open details as soon as they are available,” the CME Group website said this morning. It later posted that its BrokerTec EU markets were open and trading, while other CME Group markets remained closed.

Traders returning from the Thanksgiving holiday won’t have a full session today, as markets are operating on shortened hours. The stock market closes at 1 p.m. ET, while the bond market closes at 2 p.m. ET. Markets return to a full schedule next week, with the next breaks in trading coming for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

Consumer confidence may be wavering, but retailers are betting shoppers might propel holiday spending to record levels as the Black Friday shopping day arrives. The Friday after Thanksgiving has traditionally been one of the busiest shopping days of the year, with many retailers promoting sales and specials. The National Retail Federation is projecting that consumers could push total holiday shopping season sales totals over $1 trillion for the first time. Consumers will also find deals online as e-commerce sellers prepare for the upcoming “Cyber Monday” sales day, with Salesforce projecting that the “cyber week” sales from Thanksgiving through Monday could reach $78 billion. Shares of retailers Walmart  (WMT), Target (TGT), Amazon (AMZN) and Macy’s (M) all pointed higher in premarket trading.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating investment banker Jefferies Financial Group (JEF) over its ties to bankrupt auto parts maker First Brands Group, The Financial Times reported. The SEC is looking into whether Jefferies gave investors in its Point Bonita fund enough information about their exposure to First Brands, which filed for bankruptcy in December. Jefferies CEO Rich Handler has said that the bank believes it was defrauded by First Brands, the report showed. Shares of Jefferies were lower in premarket trading.

• Most of President Donald Trump's tariffs remain in place, and these trade duties on imports have partially increased costs.
• As an example, Investopedia found that the price of grape tomatoes at three popular retailers is higher than it was when tariffs were not in effect.

Trade policies are filtering down to household budgets, and tomatoes may be an indicator of just how quickly prices are rising.

Tariffs were a primary focus of the Trump administration at the beginning of the year. The reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries have been in place for more than three months. Several other trade duties on specific items imported into the U.S. are also in effect. Inflation reports indicate that prices have risen over the year, and experts attribute this at least partly to tariffs.

Since mid-April, Investopedia has been tracking the prices of select household goods each week to gauge the changes in prices since tariffs were announced.

While you can't track inflation by tracking one item, and prices at stores may change for reasons other than tariffs, this tracker displays how the cost of a commonly purchased item has changed since the trade duties were implemented. Since prices may vary across different regions, Investopedia is measuring price changes, rather than exact pricing.

Specifically, the cost of tomatoes across retailers has varied from week to week, with pricing fluctuating up and down. Even with fluctuations, the current prices of grape tomatoes are higher compared to when Investopedia first started tracking them on April 23.

As of Nov. 19, grape tomatoes from Walmart are 4% more compared to when Investopedia first started tracking. At Target, the tomatoes are 8% more expensive, and Amazon's tomatoes are 18% more expensive than they were when we first began following the prices.

This tracker displays how costs have varied since tariffs were implemented. It shows that most Americans have experienced price hikes for at least one commonly purchased item at grocery stores.

The main trade duty on imported tomatoes is a 17.09% tariff on most tomatoes from Mexico, which took effect on July 14. The Department of Commerce announced this tariff in April, saying Mexican imports have been unfairly priced, and this "action will allow U.S. tomato growers to compete fairly in the marketplace."

Mexico supplies about 70% of all tomatoes in the U.S., according to the Florida Tomato Exchange.

President Donald Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs officially took effect on Aug. 7, but have less of an impact on tomatoes. These country-specific tariffs do not impact goods that comply with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which includes tomatoes. The U.S gets about 12% of its imported tomatoes from Canada, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

However, the reciprocal tariffs did impact other countries, such as New Zealand, Moldova, Ecuador, and Japan, whose tariff rates ranged from 15% to 25%. In 2024, these countries imported approximately $173,917 worth of tomatoes, accounting for about 0.005% of the total tomatoes imported by the U.S.

Last week, Trump announced that the reciprocal tariffs would be lifted from certain agricultural products, including tomatoes. However, the tariffs on Mexican tomatoes will likely remain, as this trade duty was not part of Trump's sweeping reciprocal tariffs.