“.November Has Been Harsh and Unusual for U.S. Stocks

The U.S. stock market was closed Thursday for Thanksgiving Day and will reopen on Friday with trading limited to 1 p.m. ET.

With roughly three hours of trading left in November, the major U.S. indexes are on track to finish the month in the red, according to internal calculations.

At Wednesday’s close, the S&P 500 was down 0.4 % month‑to‑date, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.29 %, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.15 %, lagging its peers as technology stocks struggled throughout the month.

If Friday’s shortened session does not produce a dramatic rally, the indexes will likely end November with a net loss, snapping the six‑month winning streak enjoyed by the S&P 500 and Dow Jones and the seven‑month gain recorded by the Nasdaq.

This potential reversal also departs from historical patterns. Since 1950, the S&P 500 has averaged a 1.8 % gain in November, and the year following a U.S. presidential election typically sees a 1.6 % rise. The current post‑election environment, however, is being reshaped by unusually high inflation expectations, lingering supply‑chain constraints, and a shift in fiscal policy that makes historical comparisons less reliable.

Beyond the headline numbers, several underlying forces are influencing market dynamics. First, the Federal Reserve’s “higher‑for‑longer” stance continues to weigh on rate‑sensitive sectors, particularly housing and consumer discretionary. Second, corporate earnings have shown a widening gap between high‑margin technology firms and more cyclical manufacturers, amplifying sector rotation. Finally, the accelerating deployment of artificial‑intelligence workloads is redirecting capital toward cloud infrastructure providers that can meet the growing demand for GPU‑based compute, while legacy data‑center operators face pressure to modernize.

U.S. futures are largely flat Thursday night. The market remained closed for Thanksgiving, while Asia‑Pacific exchanges traded mixed on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose amid volatile trading after Tokyo’s inflation data came in hotter than expected.

The U.S. administration announced plans to suspend federal benefits and subsidies for non‑citizens, a move that could have downstream effects on labor‑force participation and consumer spending, particularly in sectors that rely on immigrant labor.

South Korea has imposed sanctions on the Cambodian Prince Group over alleged large‑scale fraud operations across Southeast Asia. The action aligns with recent punitive measures taken by the United States, the United Kingdom and Singapore.

Russia signaled openness to “serious” peace discussions, suggesting that the U.S.–led framework could serve as a foundation for future agreements. This diplomatic tone may influence energy markets, especially natural‑gas pricing in Europe.

Bank of America’s equity strategists project a modest single‑digit percentage gain for the S&P 500 in 2026, citing a slowdown in earnings growth and a contraction of the “growth premium” that has buoyed the market in recent years.

Europe’s deliberate, regulatory‑first approach to artificial intelligence may become its competitive edge.

While the continent is unlikely to dominate the construction of large‑scale AI hyperscaler facilities or the training of massive models—areas where the United States and China hold clear advantages—European firms are carving out niches in edge‑computing, secure‑cloud services, and connectivity‑focused data‑center architecture. These segments benefit from stringent data‑sovereignty rules and a growing demand for latency‑sensitive AI applications in finance, healthcare and manufacturing.

“There are many constraints,” said Seb Dooley, senior fund manager at Principal Asset Management, “but the harder something is to replicate, the more durable its long‑term value becomes.” This perspective underscores why investors are increasingly allocating capital to European cloud providers that can offer compliant, low‑latency AI inference platforms.

In the broader context, the shift toward a more diversified AI ecosystem could alleviate supply‑chain bottlenecks that have plagued data‑center construction worldwide and may drive a wave of cross‑border collaborations focused on green‑energy‑powered compute. Companies that align with Europe’s sustainability standards stand to gain regulatory incentives and access to a market that values privacy and environmental stewardship.

— Tasmin Lockwood