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U.S. stocks ended sharply lower on Thursday after a market rally fueled by robust earnings from NVIDIA came to an abrupt halt as investors worried that the Federal Reserve may not go for another interest rate cut in December. All three major indexes ended in negative territory.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) declined 0.8% or 386.51 points, to close at 45,752.26 points. The blue-chip index was up more than 700 points at session highs before giving up all its gains.
The S&P 500 slid 1.6%, or 103.40 points, to finish at 6,538.76 points. Tech, energy, communication services, industrials, materials and consumer discretionary stocks were the worst performers.
The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) declined 3.2%, while the Industrials Select Sector SPDR (XLI) gave up 1.7%. The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) and Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) each lost 1.5%. The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLC) and the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) each lost 1.1%. Ten of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in negative territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 2.2%, or 486.18 points, to end at 22,078.05 points and record its lowest close since Sept. 11.
The fear gauge, CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), was up 11.67% to 26.42. Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 3.25-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, a 3.07-to-1 ratio favored declining issues. A total of 21.45 billion shares were traded on Thursday, higher than the last 20-session average of 19.94 billion.
On the Nasdaq, there were 1,168 new highs and 3,585 new lows. On the NYSE, there were 93 new highs and 269 new lows.
Tech Stocks Bleed Again
Wall Street opened on a high on Thursday, buoyed by robust earnings from AI chip darling NVIDIA Corporation ((NVDA - Free Report) ), which reported its quarterly results on Wednesday after the bell. Tech stocks, especially those focused on AI, led the rally after NVIDIA gave an upbeat fourth-quarter sales forecast.
However, the euphoria was short-lived as stocks retreated, with shares of NVIDIA ending 3.2% lower. Even NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang’s assurance that the AI isn’t a bubble, which has been worrying investors lately, failed to regain their confidence.
Concerns have been growing over the sky-high valuation of AI stocks, which have been weighing on the tech sector and the broader market. The fears returned again on Thursday, leading investors to dump riskier assets.
Concerns over the prospects of tech stocks heightened on fears that the Federal Reserve may not go for another rate cut this year. Hopes of a rate cut in December have faded lately. Data showed that the U.S. unemployment rate rose in September despite employers adding more jobs to the economy than expected.
Thursday’s jobs report is the last before the Federal Reserve’s December policy meeting. The latest report has reignited fears that the central bank may not cut interest rates in December.
Economic Data
The Labor Department reported on Thursday that nonfarm payrolls increased 119,000 in September, after a downwardly revised decline of 4,000 jobs in August. However, the numbers were sharply higher than the consensus estimate of 50,000 job additions.
The report also showed that the unemployment rate rose to 4.4% in September, the highest level in four years, from 4.3% in the month earlier. The report was initially scheduled to be released in October but was delayed due to the 43-day-long government shutdown.
In a separate report, the Labor Department said that jobless claims totaled 220,000 for the week ending Nov. 15, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week. The four-week moving average was 224,250, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week’s average.
Continuing claims came in at 1,974,000, an increase of 28,000 from the previous week’s level. The 4-week moving average was 1,960,250, an increase of 6,750 from the previous week's average.
The National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales grew 1.2% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.1 million units. Year over year, existing home sales increased 1.7%.
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Stock Market News for Nov 21, 2025
U.S. stocks ended sharply lower on Thursday after a market rally fueled by robust earnings from NVIDIA came to an abrupt halt as investors worried that the Federal Reserve may not go for another interest rate cut in December. All three major indexes ended in negative territory.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) declined 0.8% or 386.51 points, to close at 45,752.26 points. The blue-chip index was up more than 700 points at session highs before giving up all its gains.
The S&P 500 slid 1.6%, or 103.40 points, to finish at 6,538.76 points. Tech, energy, communication services, industrials, materials and consumer discretionary stocks were the worst performers.
The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) declined 3.2%, while the Industrials Select Sector SPDR (XLI) gave up 1.7%. The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) and Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) each lost 1.5%. The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLC) and the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) each lost 1.1%. Ten of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in negative territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 2.2%, or 486.18 points, to end at 22,078.05 points and record its lowest close since Sept. 11.
The fear gauge, CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), was up 11.67% to 26.42. Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 3.25-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, a 3.07-to-1 ratio favored declining issues. A total of 21.45 billion shares were traded on Thursday, higher than the last 20-session average of 19.94 billion.
On the Nasdaq, there were 1,168 new highs and 3,585 new lows. On the NYSE, there were 93 new highs and 269 new lows.
Tech Stocks Bleed Again
Wall Street opened on a high on Thursday, buoyed by robust earnings from AI chip darling NVIDIA Corporation ((NVDA - Free Report) ), which reported its quarterly results on Wednesday after the bell. Tech stocks, especially those focused on AI, led the rally after NVIDIA gave an upbeat fourth-quarter sales forecast.
However, the euphoria was short-lived as stocks retreated, with shares of NVIDIA ending 3.2% lower. Even NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang’s assurance that the AI isn’t a bubble, which has been worrying investors lately, failed to regain their confidence.
Concerns have been growing over the sky-high valuation of AI stocks, which have been weighing on the tech sector and the broader market. The fears returned again on Thursday, leading investors to dump riskier assets.
Other major AI players also declined on Thursday, with shares of Oracle Corporation ((ORCL - Free Report) ) declining 6.6%, while Microsoft Corporation ((MSFT - Free Report) ) lost 1.6%. Oracle has a Zacks Rank #3 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Uncertainty Over Rate Cut Grows
Concerns over the prospects of tech stocks heightened on fears that the Federal Reserve may not go for another rate cut this year. Hopes of a rate cut in December have faded lately. Data showed that the U.S. unemployment rate rose in September despite employers adding more jobs to the economy than expected.
Thursday’s jobs report is the last before the Federal Reserve’s December policy meeting. The latest report has reignited fears that the central bank may not cut interest rates in December.
Economic Data
The Labor Department reported on Thursday that nonfarm payrolls increased 119,000 in September, after a downwardly revised decline of 4,000 jobs in August. However, the numbers were sharply higher than the consensus estimate of 50,000 job additions.
The report also showed that the unemployment rate rose to 4.4% in September, the highest level in four years, from 4.3% in the month earlier. The report was initially scheduled to be released in October but was delayed due to the 43-day-long government shutdown.
In a separate report, the Labor Department said that jobless claims totaled 220,000 for the week ending Nov. 15, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week. The four-week moving average was 224,250, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week’s average.
Continuing claims came in at 1,974,000, an increase of 28,000 from the previous week’s level. The 4-week moving average was 1,960,250, an increase of 6,750 from the previous week's average.
The National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales grew 1.2% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.1 million units. Year over year, existing home sales increased 1.7%.