CNBC Daily Open: Some hope after last week’s U.S. market rout

Last week on Wall Street, two forces dragged stocks lower: a set of high-stakes numbers from Nvidia and the U. S. jobs report that landed with more heat than expected. But the leaves that remained after hot tea scalded investors seemed to augur good tidings. Even though Nvidia’s third-quarter results easily breezed past Wall Street’s estimates, they couldn’t quell worries about lofty valuations and an unsustainable bubble inflating in the artificial intelligence sector. The “Magnificent Seven” cohort save Alphabet had a losing week. The U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics added to the pressure. September payrolls rose far more than economists expected, prompting investors to pare back their bets of a December interest rate cut. The timing didn’t help matters, as the report had been delayed and hit just as markets were already on edge. By Friday’s close, the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average lost roughly 2% for the week, while the Nasdaq Composite tumbled 2. 7%. Still, a flicker of hope appeared on the horizon. On Friday, New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said that he sees “room” for the central bank to lower interest rates, describing current policy as “modestly restrictive.” His comments caused traders to increase their bets on a December cut to around 70%, up from 44. 4% a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool. And despite a broad sell-off in AI stocks last week, Alphabet shares bucked the trend. Investors seemed impressed by its new AI model, Gemini 3, and hopeful that its development of custom chips could rival Nvidia’s in the long run. Meanwhile, Eli Lily’s ascent into the $1 trillion valuation club served as a reminder that market leadership doesn’t belong to tech alone. In a market defined by narrow concentration, any sign of broadening strength is a welcome change. Diversification, even within AI’s sprawling ecosystem, might be exactly what this market needs now. U. S. stocks rebounded on Friday. Despite that, major indexes ended the week lower. Europe’s regional Stoxx 600 gave up 0. 33% as technology and defense stocks sold off. U. S. futures rose Sunday evening stateside. Eli Lily hits $1 trillion in market capitalization. That makes it the first health-care company in the world to join a club dominated by tech firms. Eli Lily stock has risen more than 36% this year. Bessent doesn’t see a U. S. recession in 2026. “We have set the table for a very strong, noninflationary growth economy,” the U. S. Treasury secretary said Sunday in an interview on “Meet the Press.” However, he acknowledged that some sectors have been struggling. A confusing Ukraine peace plan. U. S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held talks in Geneva with Kyiv and European officials on Sunday on a White House-led plan to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. But the plan has been mired in controversy. [PRO] Ideas from the Sohn London conference. Hedge funds unveiled long and short positions on U. S. and global stocks at the annual investment gathering. One short seller is betting against a firm buying data centers.
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/24/cnbc-daily-open-some-hope-after-last-weeks-us-market-rout.html