S&P 500 Posts Weekly Drop on Tech Slide, Higher Unemployment

04:55 PM EST, 11/21/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 1.95% this week in a technology-led decline as the September unemployment rate came in higher than expected.

The market benchmark ended Friday's session at 6,602.99. It is now down 3.5% for November but up 12% for the year.

September payrolls in the US rose by 119,000, more than the 51,000 increase expected in a Bloomberg survey. The unemployment rate edged up to 4.4%, the highest since October 2021, while Wall Street had expected it to hold steady at 4.3%.

The report was delayed by almost seven weeks by the record-long federal government shutdown, which ended last week.

Investors are weighing what the data might mean for the Federal Reserve's December policy meeting. Minutes from the October meeting showed policymakers held "strongly differing views" on the next rate decision.

Technology led the sector declines this week, falling 4.7%, followed by a 3.3% slide in consumer discretionary and a 3.1% drop in energy. Industrials, financials, utilities, materials and real estate also fell.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) shares fell 17%, and Micron Technology (MU) dropped 16%. Nvidia (NVDA) shed 5.9% despite stronger-than-expected fiscal Q3 results.

Wedbush described the selloff as another "DeepSeek Moment," noting investor nerves around the sustainability of the AI buildout.

Among the top decliners in consumer discretionary, Home Depot (HD) shares fell 5.25% this week. The home-improvement retailer's fiscal Q3 earnings unexpectedly fell, and the company lowered its bottom-line outlook for the full year.

The energy sector's drop came as crude oil futures also fell on the week. EQT Corp. (EQT) shed 4.8% and Marathon Petroleum (MPC) declined 4.7%.

Communication services climbed 3%, health care rose 1.8%, and consumer staples edged up 0.8%.

Alphabet's (GOOGL, GOOG) shares rose 8.4% as its Google (GOOG) unit unveiled Gemini 3, its latest artificial intelligence model.

Next week, the market will be closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday, followed by a shortened session on Friday, known as "Black Friday."

Earlier in the week, economic data will include September retail sales and the September producer price index. Both reports were delayed by the government shutdown.

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