Stocks experienced a mixed trading session on Black Friday, yet all three major indexes managed to extend their winning streaks to five consecutive days. This upbeat performance came amidst a temporary halt in futures and options trading due to a cooling issue at a data center run by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).
According to Chris Larkin, managing director of Trading and Investing at E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley, this could signal a late resurgence for the stock market in November. He noted that, while tech volatility may still linger, the S&P 500 has significantly rebounded from what was nearly a ten-week low, climbing close to its record close. On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 0.5% to 6,849 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.6% to 47,716 points, and the Nasdaq Composite ended higher by 0.7% at 23,365 points.
Despite a flat closing for the S&P 500 throughout November and modest gains for the Dow, the Nasdaq saw a drop of 1.7%. Remarkably, just a week ago, the indexes were looking at potential month-to-date losses ranging from 3.8% to 6.9%. Larkin emphasized the need for the market to maintain this positive momentum, suggesting that early-month selling may have been more about short-term volatility than a broader bearish trend.
History appears to favor bullish sentiment as December has typically been one of the strongest months for stocks since 1928, with the S&P 500 averaging a gain of 1.3% and closing positively 70 times over that period.
In specific stock news, CleanSpark (CLSK) saw a significant boost of 12.3% following its earnings report, which highlighted a “transformative” increase in fiscal 2025 revenues, more than doubling year-over-year. CEO Matt Schultz remarked on the company’s evolution into a “comprehensive compute platform,” well-positioned to meet the rising global demand for AI and Bitcoin workloads. CleanSpark has enjoyed a remarkable 55% gain for the week, with Needham analyst John Todaro indicating a potential 65% upside, raising his price target from $23 to $25 per share.
Intel (INTC) was another notable performer, rising 10.3%. This surge followed a tweet from TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who claimed that Intel may begin shipping low-end M processors for Apple as early as 2027. While there has been speculation regarding Intel becoming an advanced-node foundry supplier to Apple, clearer visibility on this development has emerged, as per Kuo’s recent industry surveys.
Despite Intel’s notable stock performance, analysts remain cautious. Of the 45 analysts monitoring Intel, the consensus rating is currently a Hold, with just four suggesting a Buy. Wedbush analyst Matt Bryson indicated uncertainty regarding the long-term positive business ramifications of recent investment announcements, suggesting that while such news might enhance Intel’s balance sheet, future opportunities are less clear.
The market’s performance on Black Friday, illustrated by these individual stock movements and indexes’ gains, indicates a potentially stabilizing environment for investors heading into December.
