A seven-month winning streak is on the line as tech valuations reset and investors weigh a potential year-end rebound
U.S. stock futures were virtually unchanged on Thursday night in a quiet, holiday-shortened session, setting up the Nasdaq Composite to end its longest winning streak since the pandemic-era boom. With markets closed for Thanksgiving and trading set to resume only briefly on Friday, investors are entering the final stretch of November facing a rare pullback in the AI-powered tech trade that has defined 2025.
The Nasdaq-100, S&P 500 and Dow futures all hovered just above the flatline, underscoring a cautious mood after a month of heavy selling in megacap technology stocks. Concerns over stretched AI valuations, rising capital expenditure burdens, and signs of decelerating profitability have weighed on sector leaders — from Nvidia to Alphabet — dragging the broader market lower and threatening to break multi-month winning streaks across all major indices.
Despite the November slump, pockets of optimism persist. Some fund managers see the sell-off as a healthy reset after a parabolic AI rally, arguing that oversold conditions could set the stage for a December rebound as investors rotate back into beaten-down winners at more reasonable valuations. Historically, the final weeks of the year often deliver a seasonal tailwind, especially when markets enter December from a position of weakness.
As of Wednesday’s close, the Dow and S&P 500 were modestly negative for the week, poised to snap six straight months of gains. The Nasdaq, down 2%, looks set to end a seven-month advance — a symbolic marker that highlights shifting investor sentiment after one of the strongest AI-fueled rallies in market history. Even so, Wednesday’s bounce showed signs of stabilization, with the Dow up more than 2% for the week and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq up 3% and 4%, respectively.
Markets will reopen for a shortened session on Friday, closing at 1 p.m. ET. Whether the tech reset deepens or becomes the launchpad for a year-end rally now hinges on how investors digest the latest round of AI earnings, inflation expectations, and signs of a decelerating U.S. economy. The next few sessions may determine whether November marks a temporary pause — or the start of a broader re-rating across the world’s most crowded trade.
