Week:
S&P500: -0.8% FTSE100: -1.1% Gold: +0.6% Bitcoin: -9.4%
YTD:
S&P500: +14.8% FTSE100: +17.4% Gold: +54.7% Bitcoin: +2.7%
Markets End the Week on Shaky Footing
Source: Connect Weekly | Week ending 15 November 2025
US equities swung sharply through the week as hopes of a government reopening clashed with rate-cut doubts and another bout of turbulence in the AI and momentum complex. The S&P 500 finished the week narrowly lower, while the Nasdaq 100 and Russell 2000 ended slightly higher after late-week stabilisation.
What drove markets this week
The week opened with a relief rally after the Senate advanced a compromise to end the historic 40-day government shutdown. AI names powered Monday’s gains as Nvidia flagged very strong demand and tight chip supply, lifting Micron, AMD, Palantir, and Seagate. Rivian, Coinbase, and Opendoor also rallied.
Tuesday brought a reversal as tech stumbled. Palantir slid despite strong earnings, SoftBank’s exit from its Nvidia stake weighed on sentiment, and speculative areas of the market - nuclear, quantum, neocloud, and meme-linked names - sold off sharply. Still, shutdown optimism kept the S&P 500 in positive territory.
On Wednesday, hopes of reopening helped the S&P 500 eke out another gain even as only two megacaps finished higher. Gold attracted flows as traders rotated out of high-beta momentum, while airlines surged on expectations of returning government funding. AMD, On Holding, DraftKings, Starbucks, and Dutch Bros also logged gains.
Shutdown ends, risk appetite fades
Thursday delivered the heaviest selling of the week. With the shutdown officially ending, attention shifted back to data and the now-uncertain outlook for a December rate cut. Odds dropped to roughly 50 percent, sparking a broad risk-off move. Momentum stocks were hit hard, with Goldman Sachs’ high-beta basket suffering its worst day since April. AI-linked names, quantum companies, and digital-treasury plays all traded sharply lower. Bitcoin slid below 100,000 dollars.
Despite a modest rebound in tech, the S&P 500 closes slightly lower on Friday
A deep red open set the tone for the day, but stocks recovered sharply into the close. The S&P 500 slipped 0.05 percent, the Nasdaq 100 gained 0.06 percent, and the Russell 2000 rose around 0.2 percent. Tech, down as much as 2 percent intraday, managed to end in the green.
Speculative names staged strong intraday reversals, with Applied Digital and Bloom Energy finishing higher and IREN and Oklo erasing most of their losses. Bitcoin fell below 95,000 dollars, its lowest since May, as the Fear and Greed Index hit 16.
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