US Stocks Notch Record Highs on Black Friday as Retail and Tech Sectors Soar
The US stock market notched record closing highs on a shortened Black Friday session, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average led by technology and retail stocks. Nvidia and Tesla led the gains, with the tech sector rising 1.5% and the retail sector climbing 0.6%.
Adobe Analytics estimated that consumers would spend a record $10.8 billion online on Black Friday, a 9.9% increase from last year. Target and Macy’s shares rose 1.7% and 1.8%, respectively, as investors monitored shoppers’ response to deep discounts.
The S&P 500 rose 0.56% to 6,032.44 points, breaching its intraday record high of 6,025.42 set on November 26. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.42% to 44,910.65 points, while the Nasdaq gained 0.83% to 19,218.17 points.
Retailers are expected to be impacted by tariffs, but so far, Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are looking strong. The small-cap Russell 2000 index rose 0.4% as Treasury bond yields retreated from multi-month highs.
Chip stocks rebounded from Wednesday’s declines, and crypto stocks rose on the back of gains in bitcoin. However, Applied Therapeutics plunged 76% after the FDA declined to approve its drug.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.46-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, with 386 new highs and 63 new lows. The S&P 500 posted 31 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Dow recorded 116 new highs and 31 new lows.
Volume on US exchanges was 8.15 billion shares, compared with the roughly 15 billion full-session average over the last 20 trading days. For the week, the S&P 500 gained 1.06%, the Nasdaq rose 1.13%, and the Dow climbed 1.39%. The Russell 2000 Small Cap index rose 1.48%, after hitting a record high earlier in the week.
