Category: 3. Business

The U.S. stock market was closed Thursday stateside for Thanksgiving Day and will reopen on Friday until 1 p.m. ET.

With approximately just 3 hours of trading left for the month, major U.S. indexes are looking to end November in the red, based on CNBC calculations.

As of Wednesday's close, the S&P 500 was down 0.4% month to date, the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.29% lower during the same period and the Nasdaq Composite retreating 2.15%, vastly underperforming its siblings as technology stocks stumbled in November.

Unless there's a huge jump in stocks during the shortened trading session on Friday stateside — which might not be an unequivocally positive move since it would raise more questions about the market's sustainability — that means the indexes are on track to snap their winning streaks. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average have risen in the past six months, and the Nasdaq Composite seven.

It will also mark a divergence from the historical norm. The S&P 500 has advanced an average of 1.8% in November since 1950, according to the Stock Trader's Almanac. And in the year following a U.S. presidential election, it typically rises 1.6%.

But it's not been a typical post-presidential election year. It's hard to see the market, in the coming months, or even years, moving according to any historical trajectory.

U.S. futures are mostly flat Thursday night. The stock market was closed during the day for the Thanksgiving break in the U.S. Europe's Stoxx 600 inched up 0.14%, rebounding from earlier losses.

Alibaba's AI glasses go on sale. The Quark AI Glasses come in two variants that cost 1,899 Chinese yuan ($268) and 3,799 yuan, less than Meta's $799 Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses, signaling Alibaba's competitive entry into the consumer AI market.

Apple files a case against India's antitrust body. The Competition Commission of India is investigating complaints about Apple's in-app purchase policies, and could fine the company based on its global turnover — which means a potential $38 billion penalty.

Russia is ready for 'serious' discussions for peace. The U.S.-led framework "can be the basis for future agreements," Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday, as translated by Reuters. He added that the U.S. seemed to take Moscow's position "into account."

[PRO] Bank of America doesn't see much upside for 2026. The S&P 500 should rise by a single-digit percentage point, a slowdown from recent years because one supporting factor will be shrinking, said a strategist from the bank.

Europe's slow and steady approach to AI could be its edge

It's unlikely that Europe will lead in building facilities for AI hyperscalers or for the training of AI — that race is considered all but won — but the general consensus is that it could excel in smaller, cloud-focused and connectivity-style facilities.

Europe has "a lot of constraints, but, actually, the more difficult something is to replicate, the more long-term value what you've got has," said Seb Dooley, senior fund manager at Principal Asset Management.

— Tasmin Lockwood

Asia-Pacific markets are set to open slightly lower on Friday as U.S. stock futures remained flat over Thanksgiving Day, with the Nasdaq Composite on track to end a seven-month winning streak.

Traders in Asia will assess key economic data from across the region, including inflation data from Tokyo, a leading indicator of where national inflation is heading. Investors will also watch India’s GDP for its fiscal second quarter, ending September, later on Friday.

Headline inflation in Tokyo for October dipped slightly to 2.7% from 2.8% the month before, while core inflation came in at 2.8%, slightly higher than the 2.7% expected by economists polled by Reuters. Core inflation in Japan strips out prices of fresh food but includes energy prices.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 started the day down 0.18%.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures pointed to a marginally weaker open for the market, with the futures contract in Chicago at 50,160 and its counterpart in Osaka at 50,080 compared to the previous close of 50,167.1

Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 25,935, lower than the HSI’s last close of 25,945.93.

Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes were little changed. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose just 10 points. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures traded just above the flatline.

Stocks are on pace for a losing month when trading resumes on Friday. A pullback in tech stocks has weighed on the major averages in November, as doubt swirled around the future profitability of AI companies.

Yet some investors are hopeful that this month’s slide will signal a year-end rally for the major averages, as they step in to buy stocks that have been unduly punished at more attractive valuations.

U.S. markets were closed Thursday for Thanksgiving Day. The stock market will close early at 1 p.m. ET on Friday.

— CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.