Nasdaq
華爾街日報Stock Market Today: S&P 500, Nasdaq Future Gain Following Cooler-Than-Expected Inflation Print—Oracle, Coty, Nike In Focus
U.S. stock futures rose on Friday after Thursday’s higher close. Futures of major benchmark indices advanced.
On Thursday, the November report showed that annual CPI inflation slowed to 2.7% from 3% in September. Because the Bureau of Labor Statistics lacked October survey-based prices, it carried forward September levels, effectively assuming zero inflation for a missing month.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday, directing federal agencies to loosen regulations on marijuana, marking one of the most significant shifts in federal cannabis policy in decades.
The 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.14%, and the two-year bond was at 3.47%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 73.4% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged.
| Futures | Change (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | 0.11% |
| S&P 500 | 0.33% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 0.48% |
| Russell 2000 | 0.32% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, were higher in premarket on Friday. The SPY was up 0.012% at $676.55, while the QQQ advanced 0.48% to $612.03, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Stocks In Focus
Oracle
- Oracle Corp. (NYSE:ORCL) shares jumped 5.65% in premarket on Friday, as TikTok's parent company ByteDance signed binding agreements to shift control of TikTok's U.S. operations into a new joint venture that includes Oracle as a key investor and security partner.
- ORCL maintained a weaker price trend over the short, medium, and long terms, with a moderate growth ranking. Additional performance details, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, are available here.
Coty
- Coty Inc. (NYSE:COTY) shares rose 1.54% as it is poised to receive cash consideration of $750 million from the sale of its Wella business to KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR).
- It maintains a weaker price trend over the short, medium, and long terms, with a poor growth ranking. Additional performance details, as per Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings, are available here.
BlackBerry
- BlackBerry Ltd. (NYSE:BB) declined 5.75% despite reporting third-quarter revenue of $141.8 million, beating analyst estimates of $137.4 million. The company reported adjusted earnings of 5 cents per share for the quarter, beating estimates of 4 cents per share.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that BB maintains a weaker price trend over the short, medium, and long terms, with a poor value ranking. Additional performance details are available here.
Nike
- Nike Inc. (NASDAQ:NKE) tumbled by 10.06% despite better-than-expected second quarter results as it said during the earnings call that it expects a narrower margin and lower China revenue due to tariff impact in the third quarter.
- NKE maintains a weaker price trend over the medium and long terms, with a poor quality ranking. Additional performance details, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, are available here.
FedEx
- FedEx Corp. (NYSE:FDX) was 1.04% lower despite posting upbeat financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2026 and raising its FY2026 guidance.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings shows that FDX maintains a stronger price trend over the short, long, and medium terms, with a strong value ranking. Additional information is available here.
Cues From Last Session
Information technology, communication services, and consumer discretionary stocks recorded the biggest gains on Thursday, although consumer staples and energy names bucked the trend to close lower.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Nasdaq Composite | 1.38% | 23,006.36 |
| S&P 500 | 0.79% | 6,774.76 |
| Dow Jones | 0.14% | 47,951.85 |
| Russell 2000 | 0.62% | 2,507.87 |
Insights From Analysts
Scott Wren, Senior Global Market Strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, projects a positive trajectory for the U.S. stock market and economy heading into 2026. He expects stocks to “turn in another year of good performance,” driven by an “improving economy with moderating inflation.”
A key indicator fueling this optimism is the widening spread between 10-year and 2-year Treasury yields. Wren notes this gap is the largest since January 2022 and historically tends to “accompany broadly stronger equity performance.”
Furthermore, he anticipates an “economic reacceleration” in early 2026, supported by his view that the Federal Reserve will “likely cut rates again next year”.
Despite this bullish outlook, Wren advises caution regarding potential turbulence. He states that the “broadening 2026 equity-market advance” is “unlikely to be in a straight line.” Investors should remain aware that lingering uncertainties regarding tariffs and new technology adoption “could produce volatility in equity prices.”
See Also: How to Trade Futures
Upcoming Economic Data
Here's what investors will be keeping an eye on Friday;
- New York Fed President John Williams will speak at 8:30 a.m., and November’s existing home sales data and December’s consumer sentiment data will be released by 10:00 a.m. ET.
Commodities, Gold, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets
Crude oil futures were trading lower in the early New York session by 0.30% to hover around $55.83 per barrel.
Gold Spot US Dollar fell 0.07% to hover around $4,329.37 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $4,381.6 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.25% higher at the 98.6730 level.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 0.92% higher at $88,052.39 per coin.
Asian markets closed higher on Friday, as India’s NIFTY 50 and Australia's ASX 200, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, China’s CSI 300, South Korea's Kospi, and Japan's Nikkei 225 indices rose. European markets were also higher in early trade.
Read Next:
Photo courtesy: Shutterstock