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, allowing the major averages to log their fourth straight day of gains ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 314.67 points, or 0.67%, to finish at 47,427.12. The S&P 500 climbed 0.69% to settle at 6,812.61, while the Nasdaq Composite increased 0.82% to close at 23,214.69.
The broader market’s gains were bolstered by artificial intelligence player Oracle, which jumped around 4% after Deutsche Bank reaffirmed its bullish stance on the name. Nvidia shares moved up more than 1%, recovering from a recent pullback, while fellow “Magnificent Seven” member Microsoft traded almost 2% higher.
“It’s simply a snapback to the risk-off action we had in the last week or two, which was completely normal,” said Eric Diton, president and managing director at The Wealth Alliance. “Thanksgiving week is generally a strong week in the markets. Everyone’s feeling good.”
The S&P 500, Nasdaq and the Dow are pacing for their best weeks since late June. The broad-based index is up more than 3% week to date, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq and the blue-chip Dow have risen more than 4% and more than 2% in the weekly period, respectively.
“We’re also coming to the best stretch of the year for stocks – November to April,” he continued. “It’s hard to not stay bullish here.”
Stocks had a winning session on Tuesday despite volatile trading, with several tech stocks climbing 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%, however.
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.
“If the Fed disappoints, you could have a sell-off,” Diton said to CNBC. “I don’t think they will.”
Taking a step back, November has proven to be a difficult month for stocks. While the three major averages have trimmed monthly losses with this week’s gains, all are still on track for a losing month as concerns about elevated valuations have cooled the momentum behind some high-flying tech stocks. The S&P 500 and Dow are both marginally lower on the month, while the Nasdaq is down more than 2%.
The stock market will be closed Thursday for Thanksgiving. Trading will resume with a shortened session Friday, when the market will close at 1 p.m. ET.