Nasdaq 100 and S&P500: Indices Rebound as Alphabet Pops and Healthcare Stocks Surge

Futures Edge Higher as Fed Cut Bets Offset AI Hangover

U.S. equity futures are pointing green to start this holiday-shortened week, with S&P 500 futures up about 0.5%, Nasdaq-100 up 0.7% and Dow futures firmer by roughly 0.2%. Traders are trying to rebuild some confidence after a rough November for the AI trade, leaning on a more dovish tone from the New York Fed and rising odds of a December rate cut.

Is This Just a Fed-Fueled Bounce?

Friday’s reversal set the tone after New York Fed President John Williams opened the door to “further adjustment” to rates, framing policy as only modestly restrictive.

Fed funds futures now price roughly a 70% chance of a quarter-point cut at the Dec. 10 meeting, up from about 44% a week ago, and that repricing is giving risk assets some breathing room.

The catch is that the major indexes are still nursing real damage for November: S&P 500 down 3.5%, Nasdaq off 6.1%, Dow lower by 2.8%.

Is the AI Trade Getting More Selective?

The market hasn’t abandoned AI, but it’s definitely getting picky. Alphabet is up about 3.5% premarket after rolling out its Gemini 3 model, and it was the only “Magnificent Seven” name that finished last week in the green.

Tesla is gaining around 2% after Elon Musk said the company is close to finalizing its A15 AI chip and already working on A16, with a goal of putting a new design into volume production every 12 months.

In China tech, Alibaba is up roughly 4% on strong early downloads for its Qwen AI app, while Baidu is ahead more than 4% after a JPMorgan upgrade tied to its own AI push.

What’s Driving the Single-Stock Action?

Health care is catching a strong bid. Oscar Health is up about 17.5%, Centene 8%, and Molina 5% after a Politico report that the White House plans a two-year extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies and will tighten eligibility rules.

On the upgrade tape, MP Materials is higher by more than 3% after BMO called current pricing an attractive entry for rare earth exposure.

Merck is up around 2% after Wells Fargo flagged a “catalyst rich” 12–18 months as it looks to bridge the Keytruda patent cliff.

Carvana is adding roughly 3.3% after Wedbush argued the recent 13% pullback went too far and sees limited downside from here.

What Are Traders Watching Into Thanksgiving?

The big problem heading into the Fed’s December meeting is data. The Bureau of Labor Statistics scrapped the October CPI release and pushed the November print to Dec. 18, which means the Fed won’t have a fresh inflation read on the table on Dec. 10. That leaves October retail sales and producer prices on Tuesday doing more of the heavy lifting for sentiment.

With volumes set to thin out around Thanksgiving and few obvious catalysts before the Fed, volatility can pick up quickly on any surprise.

Bottom line: this bounce is being powered by easier Fed expectations and stock-specific AI and policy stories, but traders are likely to stay selective and quick to fade anything that feels stretched.

More Information in our Economic Calendar.