By Chelsey Dulaney and Jack Pitcher
U.S. stocks were on track to end November with their biggest monthly gains this year, as chip stocks rallied on Friday.
Major indexes advanced in midday trading, with the S&P 500 on pace for a fresh record. U.S. equity markets, which were shut Thursday for Thanksgiving, will be open until 1 p.m. ET. The bond market closes an hour later.
Semiconductor stocks, such as the equipment makers Applied Materials and Lam Research and chip maker Nvidia, advanced. A Bloomberg report that the Biden administration's new planned curbs on industry sales to China would be less severe than previously anticipated had boosted some international chip stocks Thursday.
The toy maker Hasbro gained nearly 4% in morning trading after Elon Musk ignited takeover speculation by asking on X how much the company is worth.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was on track to deliver its biggest monthly percentage gain since late 2023, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The S&P 500 was also narrowly on course to register its best month of 2024. The small-cap Russell 2000 climbed, lifting its monthly gains above 11%.
Donald Trump's U.S. election victory this month ignited a market rally as investors bet proposed tax cuts and deregulation would bolster corporate profits. His pledges to impose tariffs on key trading partners have been largely brushed off by equity traders, though some areas such as auto stocks have taken a hit.
"There is still quite a lot of euphoria around and I think it's linked to investors thinking the most detrimental effects of Trump's tariffs might not come to pass," said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown. "The jury is still out."
Bitcoin resumed its march toward the $100,000 milestone on Friday, trading above $98,000 around midday.
In Europe, the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 was close to flat after data showed inflation in the eurozone accelerated in November.
Yields on French bonds slipped but remained elevated compared with some eurozone equivalents, as France's government struggles to pass a budget. In one symbolic sign of investors' disquiet, the country's benchmark yield on Thursday briefly surpassed that of Greece -- where borrowing costs have fallen sharply as the country has shed its reputation as Europe's economic headache.
Asian markets were mixed. Chinese stocks gained after Beijing said it would extend some tariff exemptions on U.S. goods through February, which investors viewed as a sign of goodwill toward the incoming Trump administration. Korea's Kospi Composite fell nearly 2% after weak economic data.
In Japan, unexpectedly hot Tokyo inflation data led investors to step up bets that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates next month. The Japanese yen climbed 1% against the dollar, extending a recent rebound.
Elsewhere in currency markets, the Brazilian real slid further against the dollar, to notch a record low. The move was in reaction to government spending plans that heightened concerns over the country's deficit.
Write to Chelsey Dulaney at chelsey.dulaney@wsj.com and Jack Pitcher at jack.pitcher@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 29, 2024 12:02 ET (17:02 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
