The U.S. stock market is closed today, Thursday, November 27, 2025, in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Trading will resume on Friday, November 28, 2025, with an early close at 1:00 p.m. ET. Looking back at the last trading session on Wednesday, November 26, 2025, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) was up 314.67 points (0.6679%), extending a four-session rally. Dow Futures (YM=F) was down 1.00 points (-0.0021%).
The primary narrative driving Wednesday's market performance was growing optimism for potential Federal Reserve interest rate cuts in December. This sentiment was fueled by recent economic data, including the Fed's Beige Book report, which indicated a gradually softening labor market and moderate inflation, increasing expectations for monetary easing. Investors are increasingly pricing in an 80-85% probability of a December rate cut.
Among the Dow Jones components, Boeing (BA) led the gainers, rising 2.46% to $186.92. Other significant advancers included Walmart (WMT), up 2.07% to $109.10, and Microsoft (MSFT), which gained 2.04% to $485.50. Conversely, Salesforce (CRM) was the biggest laggard, declining 2.51% to $228.15. Merck & Co. (MRK) also saw a dip, down 0.73% to $104.63.
Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications.