U.S. stocks rose on Monday (November 24), partly thanks to a strong jump in Alphabet shares, which helped restore investor confidence in AI-related trades.
Crude oil prices gained more than 1% on expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will cut interest rates in December, though they also faced downward pressure from progress in Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations.
At the close, the S&P 500 index climbed 1.55% to 6,705.12 points. The Nasdaq rose 2.69% to 22,872.01 points, marking its strongest session in more than six months. The Dow Jones added 202.86 points, or 0.44%, ending at 46,448.27 points.
Alphabet shares—the parent company of Google, the world’s largest search engine—surged 6.3% as investors grew more optimistic about the firm’s position in the artificial intelligence (AI) race. Last week, Google announced an upgrade to its Gemini 3 AI model, released just eight months after launching Gemini 2.5.
Alphabet’s rally helped investors regain optimism toward AI-linked trades, following recent doubts triggered by concerns that valuations had risen too high. As a result, a wave of other AI-related stocks also posted strong gains. Broadcom closed up 11.1%; Micron rose 11%; Palantir and AMD gained 4.8% and 5.5%, respectively; while Meta, Nvidia and Amazon all ended the session in positive territory.
Melissa Brown, Head of Investment Research at SimCorp, voiced a cautious view. In an interview with CNBC, she emphasized that the session’s gains were largely driven by Alphabet stock, and the market’s reliance on a few dominant stocks is not a positive sign. “I don’t believe this is a sustainable force that can keep pushing the market higher in the coming sessions,” she said.
The strong performance of AI stocks at the start of the week was also fueled by increased bets on a potential interest-rate cut at the Fed’s December meeting. According to CME’s FedWatch Tool, futures markets are now pricing in an 84% probability of a December rate cut, up from 70% last Friday.
This week, several important U.S. economic indicators will be released—mostly reports delayed due to the U.S. government shutdown—including retail sales, jobless claims, and inflation. These data releases could shift expectations for Fed policy.
Analysts believe the remaining sessions of November may not be easy for Wall Street equity investors. Trading volume is expected to drop to low levels in the coming days as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches. Alongside that, fluctuations in Fed rate expectations could increase market volatility.
On Thursday, U.S. stock exchanges will be closed for Thanksgiving, and on Friday, markets will close early.
In the energy market, Brent crude futures in London rose 0.81 USD per barrel, or 1.29%, to settle at 63.37 USD per barrel. WTI crude futures in New York gained 0.78 USD per barrel, or 1.34%, closing at 58.84 USD per barrel.
Rising expectations of a Fed rate cut in December are supporting oil prices, but oil also faces downward pressure as the U.S. appears to be making progress in mediating a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. If the war ends, sanctions on Russia’s energy sector could be eased, enabling the country to increase oil exports.
On Monday, Washington and Kyiv continued negotiations aimed at reaching a mutually acceptable plan. The initial peace proposal from the U.S. was criticized for offering too many concessions to Russia.
“Oil markets are being driven by macro news, including Ukraine peace talks and U.S. economic data,” Jorge Montepeque, CEO of Onyx Capital Group, told Reuters.
Meanwhile, Sugandha Sachdeva, founder of research firm SS Wealth Street, noted that oil prices have fallen 17% since the start of the year, and at their current levels, value-driven buying could start to emerge, providing support to prevent deeper declines.
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