With Black Friday underway, the stock market finished November on a high as several indexes had their best month of 2024.
— Stocks posted solid gains as Wall Street put the finishing touches on one of its best months of the year.
The S&P 500 rose 0.6% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4%. Both indexes closed out November with their best monthly performances of the year. The Nasdaq added 0.8%. Friday was an abbreviated trading day, with stocks closing at 1 p.m. ET and the bond market an hour later.
Investors were looking to see how much shoppers are willing to spend on gifts for the holidays. Black Friday unofficially kicked off the holiday shopping season, although retailers had been offering early deals for weeks. Macy’s and Best Buy each gained around 2%.
Apple rose 1.1%. The technology giant is hoping recently added artificial intelligence features are enough to entice consumers to treat themselves or their relatives to a new iPhone for the holidays.
