Stock Market Summary – November 21, 2025

The S&P 500 rebounded on Friday, following suggestions from New York Federal Reserve President John Williams that central bankers could cut interest rates for a third time this year. This caused rate-sensitive stocks like Home Depot and Eli Lilly to see big gains, with the latter hitting an all-time high and becoming the first drugmaker to reach a $1 trillion market cap. In contrast, the AI stock Nvidia, which initially looked strong, began to plummet, contributing to the tech and AI sector’s difficult week.

The Dow gained 800 points, or 1.7%, and the S&P 500 rose 1.6%. The Nasdaq also saw an increase of 1.7%. However, the market initially wavered on Thursday due to fears of an AI bubble and concerns about the Federal Reserve’s stance on interest rate cuts. Despite strong earnings from Nvidia, the market slumped due to renewed concerns about the sustainability of AI’s growth rate, with questions raised about the ongoing performance of companies like Oracle.

Palo Alto Networks saw its stocks fall on Wednesday, despite beating estimates in its most recent quarterly earnings report. This was due to HSBC downgrading the company’s rating to ‘sell’ because of slowing sales growth. However, despite this challenge, Palo Alto maintains strong across its businesses and continues to add to its cybersecurity portfolio each quarter.

High beef prices have been problematic for businesses like Texas Roadhouse and the wider casual dining industry. President Trump has taken several steps to mitigate this issue, including removing tariffs on Brazilian food products and increasing the tariff-rate quota on Argentine cattle imports. Despite this, analysts have warned it is unlikely to have a meaningful impact on Texas Roadhouse’s profitability. 

Additionally, the stock market took a hit as Bitcoin dropped by 3%, hitting its lowest levels since April and negatively impacting related stocks like American Bitcoin and Riot Platforms.