Dow jumps nearly 200 points to record in short session, S&P 500 posts best month of 2024: Live updates

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 rose to new heights on Friday amid a shortened trading day that will cap a strong month for equities.

The broad S&P 500 added 0.6%, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.8%.The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 188.59 points, or 0.4%. Both the Dow and S&P 500 notched new intraday and closing highs.

Some of the upward momentum came from chip stocks, which popped after Bloomberg reported that the Biden administration was considering additional barriers on the sale of semiconductor equipment to China that weren’t as strong as previously expected. Lam Research rallied more than 3% while Applied Materials and Nvidia each jumped more than 2%. The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) added more than 1.5%.

To be sure, it was a broad advance that propelled the S&P 500 into uncharted territory. About 4 out of every 5 S&P 500 members, and all 11 of the sectors that comprise the benchmark, headed for gains in the session.

Those moves come as traders look to the end of a winning week and month. November trading largely centered on the postelection rally seen on the back of President-elect Donald Trump’s victory.

The Dow has added 1.6% week to date, bringing its gain for November above 7%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite have each advanced 1.2% on the week, and are now tracking to end 2024’s penultimate month higher by more than 5% and 6%, respectively. With those gains, the Dow and S&P 500 are both on pace to notch their best months of 2024.

The small-cap-focused Russell 2000 outperformed in November as investors saw the group benefiting from Trump’s potential tax cuts. The Russell 2000 has surged around 11% this month, helped by a gain of 1.3% this week.

“The prevailing takeaway from November, to me, is that what was true before the election has remained true after the election,” said Ross Mayfield, investment strategist at Baird Private Wealth Management. “As we head into December, it’s really hard to fade this bull market here, with all the things going right, the election in the rearview and a seasonal tailwind that still has some room to run.”

Stocks have also been lifted late this year by expectations that interest rates remain on a downward course, which raises the present value of future earnings and should boost the economy. Fed funds futures are now pricing in around a 66% likelihood that the central bank will lower rates by 25 basis points at its policy meeting next month, according to CMEGroup’s FedWatch tool.

The stock market was dark Thursday and closes at 1 p.m. ET on Friday in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Friday trading was light.