Markets Rally on Fed Rate Cut Hopes; Tech Leads Gains in Holiday-Shortened Week

Market Overview - U.S. equity markets are experiencing a strong rally, driven by optimism for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in December [1][2] - Major indexes are showing significant gains, with the Nasdaq Composite up over 2%, S&P 500 up 1.6%, and Dow Jones up 0.6% [2] - The CME FedWatch tool indicates a 77% likelihood of a quarter-percentage-point rate reduction at the Fed's December meeting [2] Economic Data and Events - A holiday-shortened trading week is underway due to Thanksgiving, with markets closed on November 27 and an early close on November 28 [4] - Key economic data releases this week include the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index, Consumer Confidence data, and U.S. GDP [5] Corporate Earnings - Agilent Technologies is expected to release its fiscal Q4 earnings, while Alibaba, Dell, Analog Devices, and Autodesk are among companies reporting on November 25 [6] - Ross Stores, Intuit, and UGI Corp. reported strong earnings, with Ross Stores jumping 8.4% after surpassing analyst estimates [11] Individual Stock Movements - Tesla shares surged 7% following CEO Elon Musk's announcement of plans to build more AI chips [7] - Alphabet's shares rose over 5% to an all-time high after unveiling its Gemini 3 AI model [7] - Nvidia shares increased nearly 2% despite previous concerns about AI valuations [7] - Carvana shares jumped nearly 7% after an upgrade from analysts [7] - Amazon announced a $50 billion investment to expand its AI and supercomputing infrastructure for U.S. government agencies [11]