CNBC Daily Open: A rough and historically atypical November for U.S. stocks

The U.S. stock market was closed Thursday stateside for Thanksgiving Day and will reopen on Friday until 1 p.m. ET.

With approximately just 3 hours of trading left for the month, major U.S. indexes are looking to end November in the red, based on CNBC calculations.

As of Wednesday’s close, the S&P 500 was down 0.4% month to date, the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.29% lower during the same period and the Nasdaq Composite retreating 2.15%, vastly underperforming its siblings as technology stocks stumbled in November.

Unless there’s a huge jump in stocks during the shortened trading session on Friday stateside — which might not be an unequivocally positive move since it would raise more questions about the market’s sustainability — that means the indexes are on track to snap their winning streaks. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average have risen in the past six months, and the Nasdaq Composite seven.

It will also mark a divergence from the historical norm. The S&P 500 has advanced an average of 1.8% in November since 1950, according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac. And in the year following a U.S. presidential election, it typically rises 1.6%.

But it’s not been a typical post-presidential election year. It’s hard to see the market, in the coming months, or even years, moving according to any historical trajectory.

U.S. futures are mostly flat Thursday night. The stock market was closed during the day for the Thanksgiving break in the U.S. Europe’s Stoxx 600 inched up 0.14%, rebounding from earlier losses.

Alibaba’s AI glasses go on sale. The Quark AI Glasses come in two variants that cost 1,899 Chinese yuan ($268) and 3,799 yuan, less than Meta’s $799 Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses, signaling Alibaba’s competitive entry into the consumer AI market.

Apple files a case against India’s antitrust body. The Competition Commission of India is investigating complaints about Apple’s in-app purchase policies, and could fine the company based on its global turnover — which means a potential $38 billion penalty.

Russia is ready for ‘serious’ discussions for peace. The U.S.-led framework “can be the basis for future agreements,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday, as translated by Reuters. He added that the U.S. seemed to take Moscow’s position “into account.”

[PRO] Bank of America doesn’t see much upside for 2026. The S&P 500 should rise by a single-digit percentage point, a slowdown from recent years because one supporting factor will be shrinking, said a strategist from the bank.

Europe’s slow and steady approach to AI could be its edge

It’s unlikely that Europe will lead in building facilities for AI hyperscalers or for the training of AI — that race is considered all but won — but the general consensus is that it could excel in smaller, cloud-focused and connectivity-style facilities.

Europe has “a lot of constraints, but, actually, the more difficult something is to replicate, the more long-term value what you’ve got has,” said Seb Dooley, senior fund manager at Principal Asset Management.

— Tasmin Lockwood