Macroeconomic Anxieties and Lofty AI Valuation Worries Keep U.S. Indexes Under Pressure

Barry Adams
21 Nov, 2025
New York City

Stocks attempted to rebound on Friday from sharp sell-offs on Thursday as investors lightened exposure to expensive tech stocks. 

The S&P 500 index increased 0.2%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.3%, and benchmark indexes could face another day of selling towards the close of the regular session. 

Benchmark indexes soared as much as 2% in early trading on Thursday after Nvidia reported record sales and earnings in its latest quarter but managed to close down around 2% amid waves of stock selling. 

However, a broad sell-off in the market weighed on indexes amid uncertainty about the Fed's rate decision in two weeks after September's nonfarm payrolls rose more than expected. 

The U.S. private businesses added 119,000 net new jobs in September, as employment continued to trend up in healthcare, food services and drinking places, and social assistance. 

Employers in transportation and warehousing and the federal government trimmed positions, according to the long-delayed nonfarm payrolls data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  

September data was delayed by more than six weeks because of the federal shutdown, and the BLS will not publish an October Employment Situation news release. 

However, the Establishment survey data for October will be published with the November data.

Both the employment rate, at 4.4%, and the number of unemployed people, at 7.6 million, changed little in September. 

Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls inched up by 9 cents, or 0.2%, from the previous month, to $36.67 in September. 

The average hourly earnings advanced by 3.8% from a year ago, tracking the inflation level over the period. 

The agency revised lower net job gains in July and August, and after the revisions, total non-farm payrolls are at the same levels as in April. 

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for July was revised down by 7,000 to 72,000, and the change for August was revised down from 22,000 to -4,000, trimming the net gains by 33,000 over the two-month period.

 

U.S. Stock Movers 

Gap Inc. rose 5.4% to $24.32 after the company's fiscal third-quarter results surpassed market expectations. 

Comparable sales increased 5% from a year ago, driven by a 3% rise in store sales and a 2% jump in online sales, which accounted for 40% of total sales in the quarter. 

Ross Stores increased 2.5% to $164.55 after the company announced its fiscal third-quarter results. 

The retailer revised the higher comparable store sales estimate to between 3% and 4% and diluted earnings per share in the range of $1.77 to $1.85. 

In addition, the company said tariff-related costs "to be negligible in the fourth quarter." 

Intuit Inc. increased 3.3% to $658.0, and the software company delivered better-than-expected results in the fiscal first quarter ending in October.  

Walmart soared 6.6% to $107.40 after the company reported better-than-expected sales and earnings in the fiscal third quarter. 

The general retailer attracted new customers across all household income levels as shoppers searched for bargains amid a sustained increase in tariff-driven food prices.