.5 Things to Know Before the Stock Market Opens on Monday

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Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:

Last week’s recovery rally allowed the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 to close their seventh straight winning month. However, technology stocks lagged as investors grappled with concerns over mounting AI‑related capital expenditures.

Key points:

• The Nasdaq Composite slipped roughly 1.5 % in November, ending a seven‑month winning streak and underscoring the market’s sensitivity to AI‑spending fatigue.
• Palantir emerged as a standout laggard, plunging about 16 %—its steepest monthly decline in more than two years—after a disappointing earnings beat and heightened scrutiny of its AI‑driven valuation.
• Silver rallied back to all‑time highs and recorded its longest streak of positive months since 1983, buoyed by safe‑haven demand and industrial applications.
• December, the final trading month of 2025, is set to finish a year that has delivered strong returns for equity investors overall.
• Analysts note that investors currently hold a relatively modest exposure to U.S. equities, suggesting a potential upside if market sentiment improves.
• Bitcoin and Ethereum both fell this morning, signaling continued headwinds for the crypto sector amid broader risk‑off sentiment.

Eli Lilly announced today that it is lowering the cash price of single‑dose vials of its weight‑loss drug Zepbound on its direct‑to‑consumer platform. Cash‑pay patients with a valid prescription can now purchase the medication for $299‑$449 per month, depending on dose, down from $349‑$499.

The price reduction follows recent policy moves aimed at making blockbuster obesity treatments more accessible. While the pricing cut could broaden the drug’s addressable market, it also raises questions about margin pressure for pharma companies that have traditionally relied on premium pricing to offset high R&D spend.

Analysts will be watching whether the lower price stimulates volume enough to offset the reduced unit margin, especially as competitors such as Novo Nordisk prepare similar affordability initiatives.

Box‑office receipts for Thanksgiving weekend are on track to become one of the best in history. The five‑day holiday period has generated roughly $294 million in ticket sales, and Disney’s “Zootopia 2” alone accounted for an estimated $156 million.

IMAX reported $40.8 million in global ticket sales over the same span—a 70 % year‑over‑year increase and a new all‑time high for the premium‑screen format. The strong performance underscores the continued resilience of theatrical releases in a market that has been increasingly tilted toward streaming.

Industry observers note that the success of family‑oriented blockbusters can act as a catalyst for ancillary revenue streams, including merchandising, concessions, and downstream streaming rights.

European‑listed shares of Airbus fell sharply after reports emerged of a quality issue affecting dozens of A320‑family aircraft. Sources indicate a defect in fuselage panels that has delayed deliveries but has not yet impacted planes currently in service.

Airbus confirmed a software glitch that grounded roughly 6,000 A320‑family jets over the holiday weekend. While the company’s statement stopped short of quantifying the financial impact, analysts project that the delivery delays could erode quarterly revenue guidance and strain relations with airline customers that are tightening cash flow in a post‑pandemic recovery phase.

The incident also highlights the broader supply‑chain vulnerabilities in the aerospace sector, where tight margins and high regulatory scrutiny leave little room for error.

Family‑owned businesses that specialize in personalized memorial products are confronting a double‑edged challenge. A steady rise in cremation rates has reduced demand for traditional gravestones, while recent tariff hikes on imported granite have squeezed profit margins.

Many firms continue to import high‑quality stone because domestic alternatives are either cost‑prohibitive or unavailable for specific finishes. The higher landed cost, combined with rising U.S. labor expenses, forces these niche operators to evaluate price adjustments or shift toward alternative materials such as engineered stone.

Strategic responses may include vertical integration of quarry operations, diversification into memorial services, or leveraging e‑commerce platforms to reach a broader customer base and offset the tariff impact.