Stock futures pointed slightly higher before a tech outage halted trading on Black Friday, with major indexes poised to record their best week since June.
Futures associated with the tech-heavy Nasdaq, benchmark S&P 500, and blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.2%, 0.1%, and 0.1%, respectively, before the trading stoppage on CME Group (CME) stocks, bonds, and commodities exchanges.
CME Group, whose shares were down roughly 1% before the bell, recently posted an alert at the top of its website saying “BrokerTec US Actives and BrokerTec EU are now open. Due to a cooling issue at CyrusOne data centers, our other markets are currently halted.”
Before the halt, WTI crude futures, the U.S. oil benchmark, were 0.7% higher at $59.10 per barrel and gold futures were up 0.5% to $4,220 per ounce.
Bonds trading resumed, and the yield on the 10-year Treasury note ticked lower from Wednesday’s close to 3.99%.
Unaffected was Bitcoin, which was trading in a tight range at around $91,500, while the U.S. dollar index, which tracks the performance of the dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, was 0.1% higher at 99.74.
On Wednesday, the three major stock indexes closed higher for a fourth straight session. Markets were closed yesterday for Thanksgiving, and stocks and bonds markets will close early today, at 1 p.m. ET and 2 p.m. ET, respectively.
The indexes are on pace for their biggest weekly gain since June. The Nasdaq is up 4.2% through the first three sessions of the holiday-shortened week, while the S&P 500 and Dow are up about 3.2% and 2.6%, respectively. However, today is the last trading day in November, and all three enter Friday down for the month, with the Nasdaq having fallen 2.2%, the S&P 500 0.4%, and the Dow 0.3%.
In corporate news, shares of retailers Walmart (WMT), Target (TGT), Amazon (AMZN) and Macy’s (M) all pointed higher in premarket trading. The Friday after Thanksgiving has traditionally been one of the busiest shopping days of the year, with many retailers promoting sales and specials.
Shares of Robinhood Markets (HOOD), which soared nearly 11% to lead the S&P 500 Wednesday on news it is expanding its offerings in prediction markets, were up a further 1% before the bell.
Jefferies Financial Group (JEF) stock was down 1% following a Financial Times report the SEC was probing what the firm had told investors about its exposure to now-collapsed car parts company First Brands.
After slipping just over 1% Wednesday, shares of Alphabet (GOOGL) resumed their ascent after the Google parent recently unveiled its advanced Gemini 3 AI model, rising 1% before the bell. Alphabet entered trading Friday with a market capitalization of $3.87 trillion, having surpassed that of Microsoft (MSFT) last week, and is on the cusp of joining Nvidia (NVDA) and Apple (AAPL) in the $4 trillion market cap club.
Gotta Catch ‘Em All: Retailers Load Up on Sports, Pokémon and Other Trading Cards
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Americans’ love of trading cards has retailers lining up to sell them.
Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS) has opened what it calls Collectors Club Houses in 20 shops, and plans to include them in more locations, CEO Lauren Hobart said on a conference call this week. The spaces, which feature trading cards and signed sports memorabilia, come as retailers rush to capitalize on soaring demand for collectibles.
Consumer response “has exceeded our expectations,” Hobart said, according to a transcript made available by Alpha Sense. “It’s a unique and fast-growing category that’s a great complement to everything we do, and we’re very excited about the opportunity ahead.”
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Trading cards have become nearly ubiquitous, popping up everywhere from Costco Wholesale (COST) to mom-and-pop bodegas. Demand for “high-velocity items, such as Pokémon cards,” prompted Costco to create a digital waiting room for its e-commerce platform, CEO Ronald Vachris said. The cards are expected to be a hit this holiday season at Kohl’s (KSS), Best Buy (BBY) and Target (TGT), their executives said on conference calls this week.
Target has built up a diverse collectibles business, including Magic the Gathering, National Football League, Major League Baseball and Women’s National Basketball Association cards, chief commercial officer Rick Gomez said. It leaned into the category after trading cards at the big-box stores rose nearly 70% during the first six or seven months of the year, Gomez said in August.
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Booze-Free Beverages Boom as the ‘Self-Prohibition’ Era Gains Momentum
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When the booze-free bottle shop Spirited Away opened in Manhattan five years ago, its proprietor found about a dozen options with which to stock the shelves. Now, according to co-owner Alex Highsmith, the store stocks about 300 brands.
Business, meanwhile, is increasing annually by double-digit rates. Customers, she said, try eschewing alcohol—testing a “Dry January,” for example—decide they like how they feel, and then “keep coming back.”
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That feeling has helped retailers selling nothing but non-alcoholic beer, wine and spirits grow as alcohol consumption has waned.
Fewer Americans are drinking alcohol these days, and those who do are cutting back. About 54% of adults say they drink, Gallup said in August, the lowest rate recorded in 90 years. Those surveyed reported having an average of 2.8 drinks over the past week, down from 3.8 in 2024 and even more in prior years. The shift appears most pronounced among young Americans, with those under 25 drinking 17% less than older adults, according to research from Jefferies.
Read the full article here.
Stock Futures Tick Higher Before Tech Outage Halts Trading
1 hr 26 min ago
Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.1% before the trading halt.
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S&P 500 futures also ticked 0.1% higher before the trading freeze.
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Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.2% before the halt.
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