S&P 500 Nears Record High Amid Optimism Over Potential Fed Rate Cut

U.S. stock markets closed higher on Friday, with the S&P 500 rising 0.5% to 6,849.09, approaching its October 28 record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.6% to 47,716.42, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.7% to 23,365.69.

The market's upward momentum was driven by investor optimism regarding a potential interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve in December. Recent comments from Fed officials have bolstered expectations for a rate reduction at the upcoming meeting on December 9-10.

Despite the positive close, the Nasdaq Composite ended November with a 1.5% decline, primarily due to losses in major technology stocks. Nvidia, for instance, lost 1.8% on Friday and concluded the month with a double-digit percentage loss.

Investors are also closely monitoring the Federal Reserve's upcoming decisions, as the central bank faces the challenge of balancing support for a slowing job market with rising inflation concerns.

Retail stocks were in focus as the holiday shopping season commenced. Macy's fell 0.3%, while Kohl's gained 1.4%. Specialty retailers Abercrombie & Fitch and American Eagle Outfitters saw increases of 2.9% and 0.7%, respectively.

In other sectors, pharmaceutical companies Eli Lilly and Merck each rose more than 20% for the month, and travel-related companies such as Marriott and Expedia also posted strong monthly gains.

Treasury yields rose slightly, with the 10-year yield at 4.02%.

Earlier in the day, futures for major stock indexes were halted for hours due to a technical issue at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, attributed to an outage at a CyrusOne data center.