Equities Rise for Third Straight Day as Rate Cut Bets Remain Intact

04:27 PM EST, 11/25/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes closed higher for a third consecutive session as the odds of a Federal Reserve rate cut remained largely intact following fresh economic data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.4% to 47,112.5 Tuesday, while the S&P 500 gained 0.9% to 6,765.9. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.7% to 23,025.6. Among sectors, health care paced the gainers, while energy saw the steepest decline.

In economic news, US producer prices rose 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis in September, rebounding from a 0.1% fall in August, delayed data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed Tuesday. The latest reading matched the consensus in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. Annually, cost growth was unchanged at 2.7%, beating analysts' estimate for a 2.6% rise.

"The latest read on inflation is likely to intensify the ongoing debate among Fed officials as to their next policy move," Stifel said. "While inflation held steady in September, posting no additional upward momentum on an annual basis, the lack of downward improvement from a still-elevated level raises concerns any further policy easing could risk an acceleration of price pressures, or at the very least, stunt potential gains back towards the 2% target."

The odds of a third straight 25-basis-point interest rate cut by the Fed in December slipped to about 83% Tuesday from 84% Monday, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Expectations of further policy easing largely held steady even as retail sales rose less than expected in September, with spending on motor vehicles turning negative, delayed data from the US Census Bureau showed Tuesday.

"Rising concern about the labor market reported in various surveys of consumer confidence increases the risk that the pullback (in retail sales) may end up being more significant," Jefferies said.

US consumer confidence fell in November to its second-lowest level since April amid broad-based weakness, the Conference Board said.

"Consumers were notably more pessimistic about business conditions six months from now," Conference Board Chief Economist Dana Peterson said. "Mid-2026 expectations for labor market conditions remained decidedly negative, and expectations for increased household incomes shrunk dramatically, after six months of strongly positive readings."

US Treasury yields fell Tuesday, with the 10-year rate dropping three basis points to 4.1% and the two-year rate losing 2.6 basis points to 3.46%.

US President Donald Trump is likely to nominate a new Fed chair by the holiday season, CNBC reported Tuesday, citing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett is the leading candidate to replace Jerome Powell as the next Fed chair, Bloomberg News reported, citing unnamed sources.

Powell's term as Fed chair is set to expire in May.

In company news, Keysight Technologies (KEYS) shares soared 10%, the top gainer on the S&P 500. The company late Monday offered an upbeat quarterly outlook following stronger-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results.

Kohl's (KSS) shares surged nearly 43% Tuesday after the department store chain improved its full-year outlook and sounded optimistic heading into the crucial holiday shopping season despite economic pressures that it said are weighing on consumers' purchasing power.

Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) projected holiday-quarter growth after results in the just-ended three-month period topped Wall Street's expectations, with the retailer planning for a record in 2025 sales. The company's shares jumped 38%.

Nvidia (NVDA) shares fell 2.6%, the steepest decline on the Dow and among the worst on the S&P 500. The Information reported Monday that Meta Platforms (META) is contemplating using artificial intelligence chips designed by Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) Google (GOOG) unit.

Meta shares rose 3.8% Tuesday, while Alphabet's class A and C shares gained 1.5% and 1.6%, respectively.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 1.5% to $57.96 a barrel Tuesday.

Trump said that the original US-drafted, 28-point plan for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine has been "fine-tuned, with additional input from both sides, and there are only a few remaining points of disagreement."

"I look forward to hopefully meeting with (Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin) soon, but only when the deal to end this war is final or, in its final stages," Trump wrote.

Gold rose 0.9% to $4,169.20 per troy ounce, while silver advanced 1.3% to $50.97 per ounce.

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