NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are rising at the start of a week with shortened trading because of the Thanksgiving holiday.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.7% early Monday and added to its jump from Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 138 points, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.1%.
Stocks rose as hopes built that the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate again at its next meeting in December. U.S.-listed shares of Danish drug maker Novo Nordisk sank after it reported that its Alzheimer’s drug failed to slow progression of the disease in a trial.
U.S. markets will be closed Thursday for Thanksgiving.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
Wall Street is poised to kick off the holiday-shortened trading week with gains Monday after a bumpy ride last week.
Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.5% before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up 0.2%. Nasdaq futures are up 0.7%.
This week, U.S. markets will be closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday. A day later, it’s on to the rush of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
After last week’s ups and downs over AI and Nvidia, traders will focus more on “the backbone of U.S. growth, the consumer, whose spending still drives two-thirds of GDP,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
Data on the U.S. economy was scarce during the 6-week U.S. government shutdown, leaving investors struggling to parse trends in the economy.
“This makes any sniff of holiday activity — foot traffic, discount depth, card authorizations — disproportionately important. In a data desert, even a puddle looks like a lake,” Innes said.
In early trading, Novo Nordisk shares tumbled 10% after the Danish drug maker reported that its Alzheimer’s drug failed to slow progression of the disease in a trial.
In Europe at midday, Germany’s DAX gained 0.5%, while Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.3%. The CAC 40 was unchanged. Markets in Japan were closed for a holiday.
On Friday, the S&P 500 gained 1% and the Dow climbed 1.1%. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.9%. Nearly 90% of stocks in the S&P 500 advanced.
It was a fitting finish for a week that left the S&P 500 just 4.2% below its record but also forced investors to stomach the sharpest hour-to-hour swings since a sell-off in April.