Stock market today: Wall Street closes out its best month in more than a year
Stocks ended mostly higher on Wall Street and closed out November with big gains
Stocks closed mostly higher Thursday as the market ended November with its biggest monthly gain in more than a year.
The S&P 500 rose 0.4% after drifting between small gains and losses. The benchmark index rose 8.9% in November, its biggest monthly gain since July 2022.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.5%, while the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.2%. Both indexes also posted solid gains for the month, finishing with gains of 8.8% and 10.7%, respectively.
The market marched steadily higher for much of November as investors grew hopeful that the Federal Reserve is finally done raising interest rates, which fight inflation by slowing the economy. Those hopes got more support with a report that the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation cooled last month.
November’s rally was also driven largely by the technology sector, where several companies with high values tend to disproportionately impact the market. Microsoft gained 12.1% for the month, while Nvidia rose 14.7%. Also, Treasury yields have generally been falling and easing pressure on stocks. High yields tend to make expensive stocks look less attractive to investors.
“The rally has been dramatic in its move,” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist for LPL Financial.
The momentum has stalled over the last week or so, which is the market’s way of dealing with an overbought scenario, she said, but it hardly suggests a deep sell-off ahead.
“What you want to see is that next leg up as we close the year,” she said. “November is a strong month for the market, but so is December.”
Thursday’s report from the Commerce Department said prices were unchanged from September to October, down
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