AI stocks bounce as traders await PPI 25/11/2025

HOT stories for today

Market wrap:

• U.S. equities kicked off the shortened Thanksgiving week sharply higher on Monday, with megacap tech leading the advance. The S&P 500 posted its strongest session in six weeks, while the Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) logged its biggest gain since May. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.7%, powered by renewed enthusiasm for AI-linked names. Alphabet surged 6.3% after Google unveiled its Gemini 3 AI model. Breadth also improved beyond tech. Small caps rallied, with the Russell 2000 up 1.9% as traders boosted bets on a potential Federal Reserve rate cut in December.
• Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson said he expects volatility to cool and views further weakness as “an opportunity to add long exposure into next year.” Seasonality helped sentiment as well. Historically, strong performance on the Monday before Thanksgiving has been followed by gains for the remainder of the week, a pattern that has held in most of the past two decades. Still, the next 48 hours could prove pivotal. Traders are watching incoming economic data closely ahead of the Fed’s December policy decision, with PPI due today and PCE and GDP numbers scheduled for Wednesday.

Alphabet sparks AI rebound

• Alphabet reignited the artificial-intelligence trade Monday after a lackluster showing the previous week, sending major indexes sharply higher. Shares rose 6.3% after the unveiling of Google’s Gemini AI model, fueling gains across associated semiconductor names, including Broadcom, Micron, and AMD. The Nasdaq Composite posted its strongest session in six months. Broadcom was the standout. The stock surged 11.1%, the biggest gain in the S&P 500, as investors bet that expanding adoption of Alphabet’s AI products would lift demand for Broadcom-designed custom AI chips, a dynamic traders likened to Nvidia’s current leverage across the sector.
• The rally, however, sharpened debate over market concentration. “Some investors are petrified that Alphabet will win the AI war due to huge improvements in its Gemini AI model and ongoing benefits from its custom TPU chip,” Melius Research analyst Ben Reitzes wrote in a note. “GOOGL winning would actually hurt several stocks we cover, so prepare for volatility.” Others questioned whether a single stock can sustainably drive the market. “It’s concerning when one stock is lifting the entire market,” said Melissa Brown, managing director of investment decision research at SimCorp. “That doesn’t seem like a sustainable force for driving equities higher.” Alphabet may have provided the alpha on Monday, but investors remain wary of letting it become the omega.

Stocks on the move:

• Zoom Communications (ZM): Jumped nearly 4% after posting stronger-than-expected Q3 earnings and upbeat full-year guidance. Zoom earned $1.52 per share on $1.23 billion in revenue vs. $1.44 and $1.21 billion expected. The company also boosted its share buyback authorization by $1 billion.
• SanDisk (WDC): Shares rose 9% after S&P Dow Jones Indices said it will add SanDisk to the S&P 500, replacing Interpublic Group ahead of Friday’s session.
• Symbotic (SYM): Surged 14% after topping Q4 revenue estimates and issuing strong Q1
• Agilent Technologies (A): Fell 1.2%. At the same time, Agilent beat on Q4 revenue and earnings, guidance for Q1 and fiscal 2026 disappointed. The company expects adjusted Q1 EPS of $1.35–$1.38, below the $1.41 consensus; its fiscal 2026 EPS forecast of $5.86–$6.00 also came in below the $6.02 consensus.
• Keysight Technologies (KEYS): Rallied nearly 14% after a strong fiscal Q4. Keysight earned $1.91 per share (non-GAAP) vs. $1.83 expected, with revenue of $1.42 billion topping the $1.38 billion consensus.

Watchlist: GOOGL, ZM, A, KEYS, SYM, SMTC, UPWK, BABA, ADI

Key Economic Events Today:

EST time

08:30 am: USD Core PPI, PPI
08:30 am: USD Retail sales
10:00 am: USD Pending Home Sales
10:00 am: USD Business Inventories
10:00 am: USD Richmond Manufacturing Index

 

Earnings

BMC (Before Market Open): Alibaba Group (BABA), Analog Devices (ADI)
AMC (After Market Close): Dell Technologies (DELL), Autodesk (ADSK), Workday (WDAY), Zscaler (ZS), HP Inc. (HP)



The TEFS Analyst team wishes you a successful day!