Week:
S&P500: +4.5% FTSE100: +1.9% Gold: +4.6% Bitcoin: +0.2%
YTD:
S&P500: +16.7% FTSE100: +17.6% Gold: +61.5% Bitcoin: -10.0%
Tech Surge Lifts Markets as AI Trade Reignites
Source: Connect Weekly | Week ending 28 November 2025
US equities ended the shortened Thanksgiving week on a strong note as AI optimism, dovish Fed commentary and a rotation back into high-growth tech powered stocks higher. The S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 and Russell 2000 all logged solid gains through Wednesday, with Friday’s low-volume session helping erase November’s losses for the S&P 500 and small caps. Large-cap tech outperformed again, though the AI trade showed signs of bifurcation as Google and OpenAI-linked stocks diverged.
What drove markets this week
Stocks kicked off the week with a powerful rally after dovish remarks from Fed governor Christopher Waller and renewed optimism around US–China relations. Tech led the charge, with Broadcom the top performer in the S&P 500 as rave reviews for Google’s Gemini 3 boosted demand expectations for its custom chips. Alphabet, Tesla, and the rest of the BATMMAAN cohort rose smartly. Nvidia climbed after Jensen Huang flagged exceptionally strong chip demand and requested more wafers from TSMC. AI-related names across the stack, from Micron and AMD to Western Digital, Seagate, Cipher Mining and IREN, extended gains.
Tuesday reinforced the AI narrative but also exposed fault lines. Alphabet surged on reports Google is negotiating to sell “billions of dollars” of its custom AI chips to Meta, raising questions over Nvidia’s dominance. Nvidia sank, as did AMD, Oracle and SoftBank, all of which have deep ties to OpenAI. Meanwhile, airline stocks jumped as oil slid on reports of tentative progress toward a Ukraine–Russia peace framework. Retailers Kohl’s, Abercrombie & Fitch and Best Buy also rallied on upbeat guidance and stronger-than-expected Q3 results.
Wednesday delivered a fourth straight day of gains ahead of the holiday. Tech once again led the market, though strength was broadly distributed with every sector ETF closing higher except healthcare. After several days of Google-led AI excitement, the narrative swung back toward OpenAI-aligned names, with Nvidia, CoreWeave, Oracle and AMD all rising. Retailers continued their winning streak as Urban Outfitters and Macy’s popped on strong results. Robinhood surged after announcing a prediction-market joint venture with Susquehanna.
Thanksgiving break and Friday’s thin-volume rebound
Markets were closed Thursday for Thanksgiving.
Friday opened with an unusual twist as CME Group halted trading across FX, futures and commodities due to a cooling failure at a CyrusOne data centre. Systems were fully restored by 8:30 a.m. ET, and the session proceeded with typical holiday-light liquidity. All major indices finished higher, with the S&P 500 and Russell 2000 ending the month essentially flat, while the Nasdaq 100 recorded a 1.6 percent monthly decline.
Bitcoin staged a brief morning rebound before slipping again, but crypto-treasury stocks like Riot and MARA rose. GameStop ticked up after Michael Burry posted nostalgic tweets recalling his early thesis on the company. Tilray tumbled on news of a reverse split, and Eli Lilly’s drop weighed on healthcare, the only sector to finish in the red.
Looking ahead
December opens with one of the most consequential data weeks of the year. The delayed September jobs report, PCE inflation and the Fed’s final pre-meeting communications blackout will shape expectations for whether policymakers still move in December. With tech firmly back in the driver’s seat but the AI trade showing new fractures, volatility may pick up as investors parse early holiday-spending trends and the first wave of December macro data.
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