The top 10 things to watch in the stock market this Black Friday

On November 30, 2024By Littum

Top 10 Things to Watch Friday, Nov. 29 1. U.S. stock futures edged higher on the final day of November trading as the 10-year Treasury retreated to its lowest level since Oct. 30 and the 2-year hit its lowest level. level since November 8. Wall Street is having a winning week and month. As a reminder, the markets close at 1 p.m. ET. 2. Bloomberg reported that the Biden administration is considering additional semiconductor equipment and AI chip export restrictions to China. However, chip stocks are rising as restrictions appear to be less stringent than feared. 3. The S&P 500 Short Range Oscillator closed Wednesday at 3.94%, indicating that a relatively positive session today could push us into overbought territory. (Anything above a plus 4% would indicate the market is overbought; anything below a minus 4% would indicate the market is oversold.) Also, it will likely be a very low volume trading day, meaning there is no need to chase someone big moves on the upside. 4. The Federal Trade Commission announced a broad antitrust investigation into Microsoft on Wednesday night. Analysts at Wedbush said in a note this morning that while the news isn’t all that surprising — the FTC has been informally speaking with competitors and partners — “the dark days for technology are with (Commissioner) Lina Kahn at the FTC now talking to a Trump White House .” 5. Australia seeks to ban children under 16 from using social media. How exactly that will be enforced remains to be seen, but it appears that the onus is on the tech companies. 6. The Christmas shopping season is ramping up. Salesforce data shows online sales are up about 4% to start the season, compared with 2% this time last year, according to Reuters. To be sure, the report cites other data from the National Retail Federation and Deloitte, which indicate this is expected to be the slowest holiday shopping season in six years. 7. Supporters of President-elect Donald Trump plan to spend more this Black Friday, while Kamala Harris voters may pull back on their budgets, according to CNBC’s Gabrielle Fonrouge. An analysis of shipping volumes rose in many red states and fell in most blue states after the election, as Trump supporters are optimistic about the economy and Harris voters are more pessimistic. 8. Several retail stocks were slightly higher on Friday as Black Friday got underway. Walmart rose 0.2%, Target rose 0.1%, Dick’s Sporting Goods rose 0.6% and Costco rose 0.15%. 9. In case you missed it, we answered a question from Mailbag Wednesday that asked what we look for after identifying a stock we’re interested in. Here are the two big questions we’re looking to answer. 10. Box-office analysts expect the five-day Thanksgiving weekend, which runs from Wednesday through Sunday, to easily clear $200 million in ticket sales, according to a CNBC report. That would make it the best showing since the Covid-19 pandemic. It might also end up being the best third or second Thanksgiving weekend ever. Driving these ticket sales: Disney’s “Moana 2,” Universal’s “Wicked” and Paramount’s “Gladiator II.” Sign up for my Top 10 Morning Thoughts on the Market newsletter for free (See here for a complete list of Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a share in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTMENT CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY ALONG WITH OUR DISCLAIMER. NO LIABILITY OR OBLIGATION IS OR WILL BE CREATED BY YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTMENT CLUB. NO SPECIFIC RESULTS OR DILUTION ARE GUARANTEED.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks during an interview in Redmond, Washington, on March 15, 2023.

Chona Kasinger | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The top 10 things to watch on Friday, November 29

1. U.S. stock futures rose on the final day of November trading as the 10-year Treasury retreated to its lowest since Oct. 30 and the 2-year hit its lowest since Nov. 8. Wall Street is headed for a winning week and month. As a reminder, the markets close at 1 p.m. ET.

2. Bloomberg reported that the Biden administration is considering additional semiconductor equipment and export restrictions on AI chips to China. However, chip stocks are rising as restrictions appear to be less stringent than feared.

3. The S&P 500 Short Range Oscillator closed Wednesday at 3.94%, indicating that a relatively positive session today could push us into overbought territory. (Anything above a plus 4% would indicate the market is overbought; anything below a minus 4% would indicate the market is oversold.) Also, it will likely be a very low volume trading day, meaning there is no need to chase someone big moves on the upside.