US stocks rise for a fifth straight day to close out a volatile month

Wall Street rose for a fifth straight day to put the wraps on a volatile month.

The S&P 500 rose 0.5% in abbreviated trading Friday and closed out November with a slim gain of 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 289 points, or 0.6%. The Nasdaq gained 0.7% but ended November with a drop of 1.5% because of losses for some big tech stocks.

Stocks swooned in mid-month as investors worried that stocks boosted by the frenzy around artificial intelligence such as Nvidia had gotten too expensive. Nvidia lost 1.8% Friday and closed the month with a double-digit loss. Oracle fell 23% in November while Palantir Technologies sank 16%.

Some tech stocks did notch monthly gains, most notably Alphabet, which rose nearly 14%, due to excitement about its recently released Gemini AI model.

The market turned around on hopes the Federal Reserve will again cut interest rates at its meeting next month. Recent comments from Fed officials have given traders more confidence the central bank will again cut interest rates at its meeting that ends Dec. 10. Traders are betting on a nearly 87% probability that the Fed will cut next month, according to data from CME Group.

The central bank, which has already cut rates twice this year in hopes of shoring up the slowing job market, is facing an increasingly difficult decision on interest rates as inflation rises and the job market slows. Cutting interest rates further could help support the economy as employment weakens, but it could also fuel inflation. The latest round of corporate earnings reports was mostly positive, but economic data has been mixed.

The minutes of the Fed’s most recent meeting in October indicate there are likely to be strong divisions among policymakers about the Fed’s next step.

Investors also had their eye on retail stocks as they wait to see if shoppers rushed to take advantage of the annual Black Friday sales event. Macy's fell 0.3% while Kohl's gained 1.4%. Dick's Sporting Goods dropped 0.5%. Among specialty retailers, Abercrombie & Fitch rose 2.9% and American Eagle Outfitters gained 0.7%.

Amid the volatility in tech stocks, traders moved money into other parts of the market. Pharmaceutical companies Eli Lilly and Merck each rose more than 20% for the month. Travel-related companies such as Marriott and Expedia also posted strong monthly gains.

Earlier, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq were halted for hours due to a technical issue at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. CME said the problem was tied to an outage at a CyrusOne data center.

Treasury yields rose slightly, with the 10-year yield at 4.02%.

In European trading, Germany’s DAX rose 0.3% even as a report showed inflation accelerated more than expected in November and rose to the highest level since February.

The CAC 40 in France rose 0.3%.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.2% after data showed Japan's housing starts rose 3.2% in October from the same period a year ago, the first annual increase since March.

South Korea’s Kospi dropped 1.5% after the country’s industrial production fell 4% month-on-month in October, more than the 1.1% decline in September.

Trader Edward Curran works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader works near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Nobody paying attention over the past 24 months would be surprised to see Indiana – yes, Indiana – leading the way into this year’s College Football Playoff.

But anyone paying attention over the last 24 hours knew the only sure thing beyond the Hoosiers was that the playoff selection committee was destined to get picked apart when it released the pairings for this season's 12-team bracket on Sunday.

Most of that second-guessing will be coming from Notre Dame, which was passed over for Alabama and Miami for two bubble spots. The Fighting Irish dropped two notches in the CFP rankings over the last two weeks, down to No. 11, despite a 10-game winning streak, winning their finale by 29 points and simply sitting on the couch Saturday.

No. 9 Alabama didn't move at all in the CFP rankings after a 28-7 loss to No. 3 Georgia that looked worse than that.

No. 10 Miami didn't play either, but the Hurricanes' 27-24 win over Notre Dame in Week 1 played a role in their move once the teams were grouped right next to each other after BYU lost its game on Saturday and dropped one spot.

“Everyone can spin the metrics in favor of the team or teams they support,” committee chairman Hunter Yurachek explained. “You're always going to have controversy. That’s why we debated for so long, 9, 10 and 11, into the early-moning hours, and woke up at sunrise to do the same thing — make sure we got it right.”

The committee’s other key decision was choosing James Madison over Duke for the final spot. The selection left the Atlantic Coast Conference champion out of the mix, but didn’t fully exclude the ACC because Miami made it.

The rest of the field includes No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Texas Tech, which joined Indiana in getting first-round byes.

The Hoosiers moved to No. 1 with their 13-10 win over the Buckeyes on Saturday — their first Big Ten title since 1967 — and their 1-2 positioning sets up a possible rematch in the national title game Jan. 19.

Then it was No. 5 Oregon, followed by Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Alabama, Miami, American champion Tulane and James Madison of the Sun Belt.

The playoffs start Dec. 19 with No. 9 Alabama at No. 8 Oklahoma. On Dec. 20, it's No. 10 Miami at No. 7 Texas A&M, No. 11 Tulane at No. 6 Ole Miss and No. 12 James Madison at No. 5 Oregon.

Winners move to the quarterfinals, which will feature Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Eve, then Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl, Indiana in the Rose Bowl and Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1.

This is a particularly costly and painful snub for the Fighting Irish. They lost their first two games of the season – one to Miami, the other to Texas A&M -- by a combined four points.

They did not play a tough schedule the rest of the way; it was ranked 44th, compared to 6th for Alabama but 45th for Miami. But they won all those games easily.

It also hurts the pocketbook. Where conferences split $4 million for each team they place into the first round, Notre Dame – as an independent – would have banked the full amount for itself.

Yurachek said the committee had not previously considered Miami’s Aug. 31 win over Notre Dame because there were always other teams in the mix, namely Alabama and BYU. But when BYU lost, the Irish and Hurricanes ended up right next to each other, which made that Miami win more important. Yurachek directed the committee to go back and rewatch it.

“Really, how Miami's defense dominated Notre Dame's running game, where for the rest of the season, their running game dominated most of the teams they played,” Yurachek said when asked what the committee saw in that game.

Alabama (10-3) is in despite three losses. Those who believe the Tide deserve it will look at these factors:

—An eight-game winning streak after that 14-point, season-opening loss to Florida State that included a 24-21 victory at Georgia for a season split while, for instance, BYU lost both its games against Texas Tech.

--Ignoring the above, there was the “You can’t lose ground for playing in the title game” argument. Last year, Alabama had three losses and was passed over for SMU, which was coming off a loss in the ACC title game. Using the same logic, someone other than the Tide needed to go this time.

Duke tried to make a compelling argument that its seven wins over Power Four teams, including the victory over Virginia in the ACC title game, made it more deserving than James Madison for that fifth and final automatic spot for conference champs.

But the Blue Devils had five losses. And Virginia was ranked four (now nine) spots lower than Miami, the ACC's best team by many measurements.

James Madison's playoff game against a mega-team from a mega-conference — Oregon — will suss out whether teams like that should be playing for the title.

History, however, might look back on Duke's win if league title games are ever eliminated from the schedule due to their growing irrelevance. Other than eliminating BYU (but not Alabama) and flip-flopping Indiana and Ohio State, this year's set of games in the Power Four meant next to nothing.

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

Georgia running back Chauncey Bowens (33) runs against Alabama during the second half of a Southeastern Conference championship NCAA college football game, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Georgia wide receiver Zachariah Branch (1) celebrates his touchdown against Alabama during the second half of a Southeastern Conference championship NCAA college football game, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Ohio State's Lorenzo Styles Jr. breaks up a pass intended for Indiana's Omar Cooper Jr. during the first half of the Big Ten championship NCAA college football game in Indianapolis, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)