US open: Stocks higher ahead of Thanksgiving break

26th Nov 2025 13:52

(Sharecast News) - Major indices were in the green early on Wednesday as stocks looked set to extend their recent winning streak ahead of the Thanksgiving break.

As of 1500 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.56% at 47,377.00, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.64% to 6,809.16 and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 0.71% firmer at 23,188.82.

The Dow opened 264.55 points higher on Wednesday, extending solid gains recorded in the previous session.

Market participants continued to track developments that could shape the Federal Reserve's next policy move early on Wednesday, with traders now pricing in around an 85% chance of a 25 basis point rate cut in December.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday there was a "very good chance" that Donald Trump would announce the next Federal Reserve chair before Christmas. While Bessent confirmed interviews were ongoing, reports from Bloomberg suggested that White House National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett had emerged as a frontrunner, with markets viewing him as more likely to favour lower rates.

On the macro front, mortgage applications rose 0.2% week-on-week in the seven days ended 21 November, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, doing little to reverse the 5.2% decline from the previous week. Applications to refinance a mortgage fell by 5.7%, while applications to purchase a home jumped 7.6%.

Elsewhere, Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at a decelerated pace last week, according to fresh data from the Department of Labor. Initial jobless claims fell by 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 216,000 in the week ended 22 November, below market expectations of an increase to 225,000, while continuing claims, which track those still receiving benefits, increased by 7,000 from the prior week's downwardly revised figure to 1.96m. The four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, came to 223,750, down by 1,000 from the previous week's print. The unemployment rate held steady at 1.3%

On another note, US durable goods orders rose modestly in September, according to the Census Bureau. New orders for manufactured durable goods increased 0.5% month‑on‑month, following an upwardly revised 3% gain in August and topping consensus estimates for a 0.3% rise. Transportation equipment orders grew 0.4%, compared with an 8% surge in the prior month, led by a 30.9% jump in defence aircraft and a 0.4% increase in vehicles. Excluding transportation, durable goods orders advanced 0.6% in September after a 0.5% rise in August. When stripping out defence, orders were up just 0.1%, following a 1.9% increase the previous month.

Finally, November's Chicago Fed purchasing managers index will follow at 1445 GMT.

In the corporate space, Deere & Co issued a cautious outlook for the year ahead on Wednesday, falling short of market expectations amid ongoing uncertainty over a recovery in the US farm economy. The world's largest agricultural machinery manufacturer said it expects fiscal‑year net income of between $4bn and $4.75bn, below consensus estimates of $5.31bn.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com