Nasdaq closes higher, but notches losing month despite Thanksgiving week rally

The Nasdaq Composite rose on Friday, scoring its fifth straight day of gains even as it recorded a losing month.

The tech-heavy index advanced 0.65% to end the day at 23,365.69, while the S&P 500 gained 0.54% to settle at 6,849.09. The Dow Jones Industrial Average grew 289.30 points, or 0.61%, finish at 47,716.42. Wall Street came back from the Thanksgiving holiday for a shortened trading session Friday.

“The mood is back to a bit more of a risk-on sentiment in that the market is now 80% to 85% certain we’re going to get a [Federal Reserve] rate cut in just a couple of short weeks,” Brian Mulberry, client portfolio manager at Zacks Investment Management, told CNBC.

A quarter percentage point cut from the Fed in December would mark the central bank’s third in a row after its September and October meetings. Traders have begun raising their expectations for lower rates since New York Fed President John Williams said last week that there was room for “a further adjustment in the near term to the target range for the federal funds rate.”

“It’s simply confirming that we are in an easing trend and that it will continue into the new year as well,” Mulberry continued.

Friday is the last trading day of November. A pullback in tech stocks have weighed on the major averages this month, as doubt swirled around the future profitability of AI companies. The Nasdaq fell almost 2% on the month, ending a seven-month win streak. The S&P 500 and Dow were slightly higher, thanks to this week’s gains, posting their seventh consecutive winning month.

The Dow finished the weekly period up more than 3%. The S&P 500 increased almost 4% in the period, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped more than 4%.