Nasdaq jumps to record as Intel and Tesla leap; S&P 500 gains slightly: Live updates

If history is any guide, the returns seen in the most recent month can offer good news on what’s to come for markets.

The S&P 500 finished November climbed more than 5%. Looking back to 1950, the S&P 500 has gone on to gain an average of 12.8% over the next 12 months after finishing a November higher by at least 5%, according to Carson Investment Research.

Of those periods after November finished at least 5% up, the S&P 500 has been higher a year out nearly 77% of the time.

— Alex Harring

Check out some of the companies making headlines in midday trading.

• Super Micro Computer — Shares advanced more than 30% after a special committee said it found “no evidence of misconduct” on the part of the artificial intelligence server maker.
• Intel — The chipmaker gained 4% following the retirement of CEO Pat Gelsinger. Executives said David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus will serve as interim co-CEOs. Intel shares have had a rocky year, off roughly 50% in 2024.
• Tesla — The electric vehicle stock gained more than 3% after a Roth MKM upgrade to buy from neutral. The firm cited President-elect Donald Trump’s close ties with CEO Elon Musk as a positive catalyst for Tesla’s brand.

Read the full list here.

— Brian Evans

During Monday’s trading session, 10 stocks in the S&P 500 reached new 52-week highs.

Of these names, five stocks traded at new all-time highs. These included:

• Deckers Outdoor trading at all-time highs back to its initial public offering in October 1993
• Royal Caribbean trading at all-time-high levels back to its IPO in April 1993
• Walmart Stores trading at all-time-high levels back to when it first began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in August 1972
• Visa trading at all-time-high levels since its IPO in March 2008
• Apple Inc. trading at all-time-high levels back to its IPO in December 1980

On the other hand, LyondellBasell was the only stock in the index to trade at new 52-week lows.

— Lisa Kailai Han, Christopher Hayes

Morgan Stanley is getting bullish on two security stocks despite taking a more cautious view of the sector heading into 2025.

Shares of Cloudflare rose nearly 7% in morning trading after analyst Hamza Fodderwala upgraded shares to overweight from equal weight. His updated price target implies more than 30% upside from Friday’s close.

The move comes as the analyst sees several near-term risks ahead for the space more generally, such as a tough spending environment, a less favorable U.S. fiscal backdrop and security stocks’ premium valuations when compared to broader software names.

“We believe Cloudflare can sustain, if not accelerate, topline growth over the next few years given multiple product cycles, improving sales execution and emerging tailwinds as an Edge AI network,” he wrote. “A premium valuation is warranted for premium growth, in our view.”

The stock has seen meaningful gains this year, rallying around 28% year to date and almost 22% over the past month.

Fodderwala likewise upgraded shares of Okta to overweight from equal weight, pointing to a stabilizing demand environment, easing competitive headwinds and newer product cycles starting to take hold. Its updated target reflects around 25% upside from Friday’s close.

While that stock rose around 4% in the wake of the upgrade, shares have still fallen about 11% this year.

— Sean Conlon

Online sales are expected to break a record on Cyber Monday as retailers tee up discounts on electronics, clothing and a variety of other items, according to Adobe Analytics.

Consumers are expected to spend $13.2 billion during the follow-up to Black Friday, an increase of $750 billion, or 6.1%, from the event in 2023. Adobe expects electronics to sell at a 30% discount, with pronounced markdowns also for toys (26%), apparel and TVs (both 23%) and computers (22%).

The projected huge sales — $15.7 million every minute — follow blockbuster Black Friday receipts of $10.8 billion and Thanksgiving sales of $6.1 billion, up 10.2% and 8.8%, respectively, from a year ago.

“Discounts have exceeded expectations beginning on Thanksgiving, and Cyber Monday has essentially become ‘last call’ for shoppers looking to get the best deals this season,” said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights.

— Jeff Cox

Activity in the U.S. manufacturing sector improved in November though it remained in contraction, the Institute for Supply Management reported Monday.

The ISM’s manufacturing index rose to 48.4, above the 0.5 reading in October and better than the Dow Jones estimate for 47.5. The index measures the percentage of companies reporting expansion, so anything below 50 indicates contraction.

Within the monthly survey, inventories, new orders and employment all showed gains while the prices index dropped 4.5 points to 50.3, an indication that inflation pressures are easing.

— Jeff Cox

The postelection sell-off for clean energy stock NextEra Energy Partners has gone too far, according to Morgan Stanley.

Analyst Robert Kad upgraded the stock to overweight from underweight. Kad said in a note to clients that the company, which holds an interest in several different types of renewable energy projects and a natural gas pipeline, will likely be insulated from policy changes under the Trump administration.

“While the recent US election has raised uncertainty around federal clean energy policy likely to serve as an overhang until IRA revisions are clearer, we see limited impacts for renewable infrastructure and double upgrade NEP to OW,” the note said.

The stock is down roughly 15.5% since the election.

In addition to being a prospective rebound trade, the company is also conducting a strategic review that should be completed over the coming months, according to Kad.

“Uncertainty around NEP’s longer-term strategy and growth potential makes us reluctant to make more than a short-term call for now, but holding a long position into the announcement would allow for participation in a positive outcome in which growth and sponsor support are reinstated,” Kad said.

Shares of NextEra Energy Partners rose more than 3% in premarket trading.

— Jesse Pound

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:

• Gap — The clothing retail stock jumped 4.7% after JPMorgan upgraded shares to overweight. The firm cited a strong start to the holiday shopping season and a multiyear growth outlook.
• Stellantis — Shares sank 9% after CEO Carlos Tavares stepped down from his role at the automaker, effective immediately. The company cited “different views” between Tavares and the board of directors as the reason for the departure.
• Tesla — Shares of the electric vehicle maker gained 2.2% after Tesla’s vice president of artificial intelligence software tweeted on Saturday night that version 13 of Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” driver-assistance software has started rolling out to some customers.

For the full list, read here.

— Pia Singh

Intel shares popped 6% after the chipmaking company announced that CEO Pat Gelsinger has retired.

The company named David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus interim co-CEOs.

— Samantha Subin

U.S. retail sales, excluding automotive, increased 3.4% on Black Friday compared to last year’s Black Friday, data from Mastercard shows.

Most Americans shopped online, with sales rising 14.69% versus last year. In-store sales were up 0.7%. Apparel, jewelry and electronics remained the top gifts.

Shoppers made the most of seasonal deals, Mastercard senior advisor Steve Sadove said in a statement.

“They’re more strategic in their shopping … prioritizing promotions that they believe hold the greatest value — opening their wallets, but with more intentional distribution,” said Sadove, former CEO of Saks.

— Michelle Fox

Tesla isn’t just an electric vehicle company and shouldn’t be viewed as such, according to Stifel analyst Stephen Gengaro.

“TSLA is clearly not just an automaker, as evidenced by its current market cap surpassing the aggregate value of the top 10 global automakers,” Gengaro wrote in a Sunday note. “While we have confidence in TSLA’s Auto business, the significant value creation potential from its AI-based full self-driving capabilities and Cybercab (Robotaxi) underpin our positive outlook.”

The analyst reiterated a buy rating on Tesla stock and raised his price target to $411 from $287, equating to about 19% upside moving forward. Tesla stock has added nearly 39% in 2024.

— Brian Evans

Stellantis shares tanked 9% before the bell after the automaker announced Sunday that its CEO Carlos Tavares has resigned.

The departure, effective immediately, comes as a result of “different views” between Tavares and the board of directors, the company said Sunday.

The Jeep maker established a new interim executive committee led by chair John Elkann as it searches for its new CEO. Stellantis said it expects to finish the search during the second half of 2025.

— Samantha Subin, Mike Wayland

Asia-Pacific markets traded mostly higher on Monday as the region kickstarted a data-heavy week, led by Australian markets.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 traded up 0.14%, ending at a record closing high of 8,447.9.

However, South Korea’s markets were the outlier in the region, as the Kospi slipped marginally to 2,454.48, and the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.35% to a 23-month low of 675.84.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was up 0.8% and closed at 38,513.02, while the broad-based Topix was 1.27% higher at 2,714.72.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.65% in its last hour of trade, while mainland China’s CSI 300 was up 0.79% to close at 3,947.63.

— Lim Hui Jie

European stocks opened lower Monday, with the Stoxx 600 index down 0.1% in early deals.

France’s CAC 40 index fell 0.77% as investors monitored ongoing political volatility in the country. Germany’s DAX was down 0.15%, while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was flat.

— Jenni Reid

The market is coming off a winning week and trading month, which both concluded with Friday’s closing bell. For a refresher, here is how the three major indexes performed:

• The Dow gained 1.4% in the week, pushing its monthly gain up to 7.5%.
• The S&P 500 added 1.1% on the week, finishing November higher by 5.7%.
• The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.1% in the week, ending the month with a 6.2% advance.

Notably, both the Dow and S&P 500 notched their best monthly performances of 2024 in November.

— Alex Harring

Futures tied to the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were all near flat shortly after 6 p.m. ET Sunday night.

— Alex Harring