Closing Bell: S&P 500 Poised for Fourth Straight Gain

U.S. stocks advanced in late trading on Friday, with the S&P 500 on track to notch its fourth consecutive session of gains. September consumer spending in the U.S. showed minimal growth, while core PCE inflation met expectations. The University of Michigan's December consumer sentiment index exceeded forecasts. Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery reached a $72 billion acquisition deal.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 166.34 points, or 0.35%, to 48,017.28. The Nasdaq Composite gained 64.12 points, or 0.27%, to 23,569.25, and the S&P 500 climbed 15.73 points, or 0.23%, to 6,872.85.

Streaming giant Netflix announced an agreement to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery's film and streaming assets for $72 billion, with the deal expected to close within 12–18 months. Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery rose over 2%.

A senior White House official stated Friday that the Trump administration viewed the deal with "high skepticism," causing the streaming company's stock to rebound from intraday lows.

Traders are closely monitoring economic data ahead of the November nonfarm payrolls report, scheduled for release after the Fed's December 10 meeting.

In the prior session, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq edged higher, while the Dow closed slightly lower. The tech-heavy Nasdaq logged its eighth gain in nine sessions, buoyed by a 3.4% rise in Meta and a 2.1% gain in Nvidia.

Earlier Thursday, investors digested a report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas showing November layoffs pushed annual job cuts above 1 million, citing corporate restructuring, AI, and tariffs as key drivers.

Weekly initial jobless claims hit their lowest level since September 2022, though this did not alter market expectations for the Fed's stance.

Investors hope softening labor market conditions will prompt the Fed to cut its benchmark rate by 25 basis points at its next meeting. CME's FedWatch Tool now prices an 87% chance of a rate cut next Wednesday, up sharply from weeks prior. The key federal funds rate target stands at 3.75%–4%, trading near the upper bound due to ongoing short-term funding pressures.

Sonali Basak, Chief Investment Strategist at iCapital, noted: "The data sends mixed signals—inflation remains sticky, and 2026 remains uncertain. Meanwhile, the labor market maintains a 'low-hire, low-fire' equilibrium. If this balance breaks, 2025 could get tricky."

For the week, the three major indexes eked out modest gains: the S&P 500 rose 0.1%, while the Nasdaq and Dow advanced nearly 0.6% and 0.3%, respectively.

**U.S. Consumer Spending Stalls in September; December Sentiment Beats Estimates** U.S. consumer spending flatlined in September, suggesting Americans tightened budgets ahead of a government shutdown amid persistent inflation.

Price-adjusted spending showed almost no change in September, with August’s growth revised down to 0.2%, per the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The report, delayed by the shutdown, was originally due October 31.

The core PCE price index (excluding food and energy) rose 0.2% monthly and 2.8% annually. The BEA has not rescheduled the next data release.

Slower spending signals the economy’s main growth engine was decelerating before the historic October 1 shutdown. More recent data indicates solid Black Friday sales, though spending is increasingly driven by wealthier households amid job-market concerns.

Separately, the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index rose in early December for the first time in five months, reflecting improved inflation expectations and brighter financial outlooks. The preliminary December reading climbed to 53.3 from November’s 51, beating the median forecast of 52 (range: 50–55).

Both inflation expectation metrics hit January lows. The current conditions index dipped to a record low of 50.7 (vs. 51.1), while the expectations index rose to 55 (from 51). One-year inflation expectations fell to 4.1% (from 4.5%), and 5–10 year expectations dropped to 3.2% (from 3.4%).