- StockStory Top Pick NVDA -0.97%
- WMT -1.67% ^GSPC +0.98% ^IXIC +0.88% ^SPX +0.98%
US stocks were hammered on Thursday as an abrupt midday reversal in markets followed a blockbuster earnings report from Nvidia (NVDA) and the release of the long-delayed September jobs report, which showed hiring grew more than expected in the final month of the third quarter.
When the closing bell rang on Thursday, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) had taken the sharpest losses, falling more than 2.1% from Wednesday's close, and marking a more than 3.5% intraday reversal.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 1.5%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) lost 380 points, or 0.8%.
Nasdaq GIDS - Delayed Quote • USD (^IXIC) Follow View Quote Details 22,273.08 +195.03 +(0.88%) At close: November 21 at 5:15:59 PM EST ^IXIC ^GSPC ^DJI Advanced ChartStocks opened the session higher after Nvidia earnings, the September jobs report, and Walmart's strong third quarter lifted investor spirits.
The abrupt turn lower in trading on Thursday came alongside a sharp drop in the crypto markets, with bitcoin and ether both falling sharply to add to recent losses. Bitcoin was trading below $87,000 at the close of stock trading on Thursday, near its lowest levels since April.
Nvidia stock finished the day down 3.1% after surging as much as 5% in early trading after the chipmaker delivered an earnings beat and issued a stronger-than-expected revenue outlook for the fourth quarter.
CEO Jensen Huang said demand for the company’s Blackwell processors is "off the charts," helping — at least initially — to ease concern that the recent cooldown in AI-linked stocks signaled a longer-term slowdown.
NasdaqGS - Delayed Quote • USD (NVDA) Follow View Quote Details 178.88 -1.76 (-0.97%) At close: November 21 at 4:00:00 PM EST Advanced ChartMeanwhile, Thursday morning’s September nonfarm-payrolls report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the US economy added 119,000 jobs during the month — well above the modest gain of 51,000 expected. But the US unemployment rate rose to 4.4%, up from 4.3% in August.
Following the report, options traders were pricing in around 38% odds of a rate cut at the Fed's next meeting in December. Those odds were increased from Wednesday but still reflected the emerging narrative of a Fed divided on its next move.
The data marked the first major insight into the US economy since the longest-ever US government shutdown ended. Minutes from the Fed’s October meeting showed policymakers have "strongly differing views" over whether a cooling labor market or stubborn inflation poses the greater risk to the economy.
Elsewhere in earnings, Walmart (WMT) raised its full-year forecasts after it beat on profit and sales in the third quarter. Its shares jumped nearly 7% as investors assessed the big box retailer's report, seen as a window into the strength of the consumer heading into the holiday season.
LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER 23 updates
Thu, November 20, 2025 at 9:04 PM UTC Myles Udland An ugly day on Wall Street ends with tech deep in the red
Thursday's trading action wasn't encouraging any way investors cut it.
After opening higher across the board, the major US stock indexes all reversed lower, with the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) falling over 2% at the closing bell while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) nursed a loss north of 1.5% and the Dow (^DJI) fell 380 points.
All three majors rallied overnight following Nvidia's better-than-expected earnings report.
In the end, the daily losses across the major averages and key names like Nvidia, Micron, and other tech leaders ultimately reflect how poor of a day Thursday was for the stock market bulls. Peak to trough, for instance, the Nasdaq fell nearly 4%, which would be one of the worst sessions of what's been an eventful year in markets.
Nasdaq GIDS - Delayed Quote • USD (^IXIC) Follow View Quote Details 22,273.08 +195.03 +(0.88%) At close: November 21 at 5:15:59 PM EST ^IXIC ^GSPC ^DJI Advanced Chart- Thu, November 20, 2025 at 8:36 PM UTC Myles Udland
Thursday's stock market reversal is being lead by this year's winners
A great stat from Sherwood News' Luke Kawa.
Some names in this group include Western Digital (WDC) — 2025's best performing stock, down 9% today — Micron (MU), down 9%, Palantir (PLTR), down 4%, and Lam Research (LRCX), down over 5%.
- Thu, November 20, 2025 at 8:20 PM UTC Myles Udland
America's biggest retailers had a (mostly) unified warning about the health of consumers
The "K-shaped" economy has become a hardened idea among corporates, investors, and consumers.
And those at the bottom end of the K, or Americans on the lower end of the income scale, continue to be under pressure.
Comments from some of America's biggest retailers this week — ranging from Walmart (WMT), to Home Depot (HD), to Target (TGT), and Lowe's (LOW) — all offered some version of this caution, either about low-income shoppers specifically, or the ways they see pressured consumers showing up in their business.
And while commentary from executives on conference calls can sometimes be a self-fulfilling prophecy as analysts ask each company versions of the same question, the uniformity in response is the latest signal that the US economy is ending 2025 in a weakened state.
"We continue to benefit from higher-income families choosing to shop with us more often," Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said on the company's earnings call Thursday morning.
"Middle-income households have been steady, and while lower-income families have been under additional pressure of late, we're encouraged by how our teams are meeting them with greater value across necessities and doing what we can to help them stretch their dollars further."
On Wednesday, Target executives said, "Many of the themes remain largely consistent with what we've shared in prior quarters. Guests are choiceful, stretching budgets and prioritizing value."
At TJX Companies — which houses brands like TJ Maxx, HomeGoods, and Marshalls — CEO Ernie Herrman told analysts, "my barometer for our other retailers struggling a little is just the fact that the availability of merchandise across the board is so high across good, better, and best."
At Home Depot, CEO Ted Decker told analysts Tuesday morning that, "We believe that consumer uncertainty and continued pressure in housing are disproportionately impacting home improvement demand." The company cut its full-year forecast in response.
Lowe's echoed what Home Depot said elsewhere on its call — that the outlook for homeowners remains strong, with American homeowners sitting on lots of equity with demand for new projects — but near-term caution is keeping these prospective investments on hold.
"Overall, the US homeowner remains healthy," Lowe's CEO Marvin Ellison said. "Balance sheets are strong, and consumers continue to spend. However, affordability and uncertainty in the broader economy continue to weigh on consumer confidence, particularly when it comes to larger discretionary purchases, as borrowing costs have been elevated for longer than originally anticipated."
- Thu, November 20, 2025 at 8:15 PM UTC Grace O'Donnell
The number of 401(k) millionaires reaches an all-time high as more millennials join the club
Yahoo Finance's Kerry Hannon reports that the pool of 401(k) millionaires reached an all-time high in September.
401(k) millionaires totaled 654,000 during that month, up from 595,000 at the end of June, according to Fidelity Investments.
The biggest cohort jump came from millennials between the ages of 29 and 44, who saw their generation's number of 401(k) millionaires rise 1.8% year over year.
According to the analysis, approximately 36% of 401(k) millionaires are baby boomers, while 60% are Gen X, and 4% are millennials. The figure for boomers may seem low because they are now drawing from their retirement accounts.
“Historically the 401(k) millionaires have been Gen X and Boomers, but as they are now getting further in their careers, we're starting to see millennials reach the million dollar milestone, which is an interesting change to note,” Michael Shamrell, vice president of workplace thought leadership at Fidelity Investments, told Yahoo Finance.
Read more here.
- Thu, November 20, 2025 at 7:40 PM UTC Myles Udland
Everything crypto is getting crushed on Thursday
The stock market's intraday reversal has investors pointing to one pocket as the likely source of weakness — crypto.
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was trading near $86,500 near mid-afternoon on Thursday, its lowest level since April. Ethereum (ETH-USD) was trading near $2,800, down about 40% from its most recent high reached back in late August.
CCC - CoinMarketCap • USD (BTC-USD) Follow View Quote Details 84,174.32 -1,710.73 (-1.99%) As of 6:14:00 AM UTC. Market Open. BTC-USD ETH-USD Advanced ChartThe drops in bitcoin and ethereum had these tokens down about 5% and 8%, respectively, from levels seen before US stocks opened this morning.
And the selling in cryptocurrencies was also pressuring crypto-related stocks, with Coinbase (COIN) and Robinhood (HOOD) among the worst performers in the S&P 500 as of Thursday afternoon, down 6% and 8%, respectively.
The selling on Thursday followed three pieces of what would have seemed, in a vacuum, like good news for markets — strong earnings from Nvidia and Walmart and a better-than-expected jobs report.
But the price action matches more closely with what the general feeling in markets has been of late, which is that something in this stage of the bull market — between private credit, AI financing concerns, crypto enthusiasm, and so on — just isn't adding up.
- Thu, November 20, 2025 at 7:30 PM UTC Grace O'Donnell
Nvidia CEO hits back at AI bubble, circular investing fears: 'We see something very different'
Yahoo Finance's Daniel Howley reports:
Read more here.
Thu, November 20, 2025 at 7:00 PM UTC Laura Bratton
How Blue Owl found itself at the middle of Wall Street's latest private credit fears
Yahoo Finance's David Hollerith reports:
Read more here.
- Thu, November 20, 2025 at 6:26 PM UTC Grace O'Donnell
Trending tickers in afternoon trading: Nvidia, Walmart, Bath & Body Works, Palo Alto Networks
As stocks broadly fell on Thursday, here's a look at some individual names trending among Yahoo Finance users:
Nvidia (NVDA): The stock bounced back from the session's lows but was still trading in the red after giving up its post-earnings stock bump. On Nvidia's earnings call on Wednesday, CEO Jensen Huang directly addressed AI bubble fears that seemed to make a resurgence on Thursday, saying, "There's been a lot of talk about an AI bubble. From our vantage point, we see something very different."
NasdaqGS - Delayed Quote • USD (NVDA) Follow View Quote Details 178.88 -1.76 (-0.97%) At close: November 21 at 4:00:00 PM EST Advanced ChartWalmart (WMT): Shares climbed nearly 6% after the world's largest retailer proved once again that it can't be slowed down by softening consumer sentiment. Following the company's earnings beat, Walmart CFO John David Rainey said that the holiday shopping season was off to a good start.
Bath & Body Works (BBWI): Shares of the soap and lotion retailer were hammered — falling 25% — after the company signaled that declining sales trends would continue to weigh on fourth quarter and full-year results. Relatively new CEO Daniel Heaf acknowledged that Bath & Body Works has been underperforming and launched a turnaround strategy that is expected to take at least two years to execute.
Palo Alto Networks (PANW): The stock fell 6.7% after announcing plans to acquire Chronosphere, an observability platform, for an undisclosed amount. The cybersecurity firm also reported earnings on Wednesday that beat analysts' expectations.
Robinhood (HOOD), Uber (UBER), and Spotify (SPOT) also fell as part of the broad-based selling in markets.
- Thu, November 20, 2025 at 6:07 PM UTC Grace O'Donnell
Tech-led selling mounts as US stocks erase gains
Selling intensified Thursday afternoon as stocks gave back gains and then some as the risk-off mood in markets resumed and investors revived uneasiness about AI valuations.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) fell 1.2%, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) lost around 0.9%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) lost 0.7%. All indexes were well in the green earlier in the day.
Technology stocks led the broad sell-off, as Nvidia (NVDA) dragged the sector down despite climbing about 5% on Thursday morning. At last check, Nvidia shares were down 1.3%. Only the Consumer Defensive sector was consistently in the green.
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) also restarted its slide, falling over 2% to below $87,000 per token.
And Treasury yields also fell, with the 10-year bond (^TNX) down about 4 basis points to 4.09%.
'Unhelpful split verdict': September jobs report makes Fed next move unclear
Yahoo Finance's Jennifer Schonberger reports:
Read the full story here.
Stocks pare earlier gains
The major gauges cooled off a bit after big gains earlier in Thursday's trading session.
The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) and the S&P 500 (^GSPC) both added around 0.6% after climbing roughly 2.5% and 1.8%, respectively, in early morning trading.
Nvidia (NVDA), which climbed nearly 5% earlier Thursday, was up just fractionally in late morning trading.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI), which includes fewer tech stocks, was up 0.5%.
DJI - Delayed Quote • USD (^DJI) Follow View Quote Details 46,245.41 +493.15 +(1.08%) At close: November 21 at 4:59:32 PM EST ^DJI ^IXIC ^GSPC Advanced ChartBitcoin steadies after crypto sell-off
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) steadied near $90,500 per token on Thursday, having dropped below $90,000 during the prior two trading sessions for the first time since April.
The move comes as bets on the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates in December jumped following the September jobs report.
CCC - CoinMarketCap • USD (BTC-USD) Follow View Quote Details 84,174.32 -1,710.73 (-1.99%) As of 6:14:00 AM UTC. Market Open. Advanced ChartCryptocurrencies overall traded mixed, with ethereum (ETH-USD) and BNB (BNB-USD) declining nearly 2%, while solana (SOL-USD) rose 2.5%.
Meanwhile, crypto stocks steadied after posting declines in the past several trading sessions. Strategy (MSTR), Coinbase (COIN), and PayPal (PYPL) traded roughly flat, while stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) fell fractionally.
Riot Platforms (RIOT) and Mara Holdings (MARA) gained 5.6% and 3%, respectively.
- Thu, November 20, 2025 at 3:07 PM UTC Karen Friar
Chip stocks, Big Tech names rise in Nvidia's slipstream
Shares in chipmakers climbed in the wake of Nvidia's (NVDA) stellar earnings, with fellow megacaps and other AI-linked names also getting a boost.
Broadcom (AVGO) and AMD (AMD) both saw their stock rise about 4% soon after the market open, while Arm (ARM) moved up over 3%, and Intel (INTC) added almost that much.
Big Tech stocks Google (GOOG) 3.3% and Meta (META) put on about 3% and 2%, respectively, as other "Magnificent Seven" megacaps floated higher. Tesla (TSLA), which has AI ambitions for robots and self-driving cars, advanced nearly 6%.
Meanwhile, CoreWeave (CRWV) stock jumped nearly 7%. The cloud services provider rents out Nvidia chips for other companies to use, meaning it's dependent on the AI demand growth forecast by the bellwether.
The same optimism fed a 3% gain in US-listed shares of Taiwan's TSMC (TSM), the giant contract chipmaker that's a big supplier to Nvidia.
Interest rate-cut bets jump after September jobs report
The long-awaited September jobs report from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday — delayed by government shutdown — showed the unemployment rate climbing more than projected during the month, but also hiring accelerating far above expectations.
After the report, options traders were pricing in roughly 42% odds of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates by 25 basis points at its December meeting, according to CME Group. That's up from around 28% earlier in the morning, before the jobs report, and 30% on Wednesday.
Still, rate cut bets are far below last month, when traders were pricing in more than 99% chances of an easing in December.
Tech leads stocks higher at the open
US stocks popped at the market open Friday following Nvidia's (NVDA) stellar earnings and the long awaited September jobs report, which lifted hopes for interest rate cuts from the Fed in December.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) surged 2.1%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) added roughly 1.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI), which includes fewer tech stocks, climbed 1.3%.
Stocks had seen a modest rebound on Wednesday after four days of losses.
Thurday's moves helped put the Nasdaq and S&P in positive territory over the past five trading sessions, while the Dow was still set for a weekly loss.
DJI - Delayed Quote • USD (^DJI) Follow View Quote Details 46,245.41 +493.15 +(1.08%) At close: November 21 at 4:59:32 PM EST ^DJI ^IXIC ^GSPC Advanced ChartUnemployment ticked up more than expected in September
The US unemployment rate rose more than expected in September to 4.4%.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its monthly jobs report for September at 8:30 a.m. ET on Thursday after a six-week delay due to the longest-ever government shutdown.
August’s jobs report had shown the unemployment rate stood at 4.3%. Economists polled by Bloomberg expected the rate to remain unchanged in September, while the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago projected that it had inched up to 4.35%.
At the same time, September's "Employment Situation" report showed the US economy added 119,000 jobs during the month, well above the modest gain of 51,000 positions expected by economists, per Bloomberg data.
The BLS's monthly jobs reports are widely watched, giving investors an overview of the health of the US labor market. It also factors into the Fed's interest rate policy decisions.
Also on Thursday, Labor Department data showed fewer than anticipated US jobless claims in the week through Nov. 15. The initial unemployment filings totaled 220,000 versus the 227,000 expected, according to Bloomberg data.
Read more here.
- Thu, November 20, 2025 at 1:15 PM UTC Grace O'Donnell
Nvidia says it's 'disappointed' as China business falls flat amid geopolitical turmoil
As the dust settles on Nvidia's (NVDA) solid earnings beat and guidance raise, my colleague Laura Bratton notes that China remains a sore spot for the AI chipmaker.
Laura reports:
Read more here.
- Thu, November 20, 2025 at 12:45 PM UTC Grace O'Donnell
Walmart earnings, sales top expectations as company raises full-year forecasts
Walmart (WMT) stock was muted after the company reported third quarter results, showing that the world's largest retailer still sees growth despite an uncertain consumer environment that caused some of its rivals to stumble.
Shares fell 0.2% in premarket trading after initially dipping 2%.
NYSE - Delayed Quote • USD (WMT) Follow View Quote Details 105.32 -1.79 (-1.67%) At close: November 21 at 4:00:02 PM EST Advanced ChartYahoo Finance's Brooke DiPalma reports:
Read more here.
- Thu, November 20, 2025 at 10:59 AM UTC Grace O'Donnell
Asia tech stocks rise in wake of Nvidia's stellar earnings
Technology stocks in Asia popped on Thursday after Nvidia (NVDA) earnings dampened fears of an AI bubble.
Shares of Taiwan's TSMC (TSM, 2330.TW), the world's largest contract chipmaker and a major supplier of chips to Nvidia, jumped 4.3%. Its US-listed stock rose 2.6% in premarket.
Another Nvidia partner, South Korea's SK Hynix (000660.KS, HXSCL), saw its shares rise 1.6%, while its peer Samsung Electronics (005930.KS, SSNLF) gained nearly 4.3%.
The moves sent the tech-heavy Taiwan and South Korea stock indexes higher, while in Japan, the Nikkei (^N225) advanced over 2.6% and at one point reclaimed the key 50,000 level in the session.
Read more here.
- Thu, November 20, 2025 at 10:40 AM UTC Karen Friar
Is the 'no-hire, no-fire' labor market narrative breaking as job cuts mount?
Yahoo Finance's Emma Ockerman looks at what layoffs are telling us about the jobs market with delayed official data finally about to land.
She reports:
Read more here.
