Wall Street Edges Higher as Rate-Cut Bets Stir a Cautious Market

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•  21 Nov 2025
 

•   ESTC  
   
  -3.84%
•   GOOG  
   
  -0.10%
•   INTC  
   
  +2.77%
•   INTU  
   
  -0.97%
•   NVDA  
   
  -0.60%

The market opened with a soft smile but a shaky trigger finger. The Nasdaq is up 0.3%, the S&P 500 adds 0.4%, and the Dow matches the tone, yet no one truly feels relaxed. After a week of pullbacks and yesterday sharp intraday reversal, traders know the air is thin at the top and the market is hinting that it *wants* a breather, maybe even needs one, before choosing its next real direction.

Bonds added their own signal as the 10-year Treasury yield slipped to 4.07% and the 2-year slid to 3.52%. Then the Fed poured fuel on the repricing when New York Fed President John Williams said he sees room for a rate cut “in the near term” That single line jolted expectations, and traders now price a 75% chance of a December cut, compared with just 40% the day before. With the Fed deeply divided ahead of the final meeting of 2025, every word now moves positions.

$NVDA keeps sliding even after a strong quarter and upbeat AI outlook. Investors are wrestling with the idea that the sector may have run too far too fast, and they’re questioning whether Nvidia can protect its fat margins as competition heats up. $INTC inches higher despite the alleged TSMC leak scandal, while $TSM drops on concerns about chip slowdown and renewed geopolitical pressure in East Asia. Meanwhile $GOOG jumps nearly 3%, extending a 55% year to date run driven by the momentum behind its new Gemini AI model and renewed confidence in Alphabet cloud AI positioning.

$INTU pops after beating expectations, though its full year outlook stays conservative. $ESTC tumbles despite delivering strong results, as cloud growth slows and investors punish anything that signals fragility. On the flip side, $GPS surges after crushing forecasts, posting its seventh straight quarter of same store sales growth and its strongest levels since early 2018. In a market full of nerves, Gap suddenly looks like a rare bright spot in mainstream retail.

Crypto isn’t escaping the pressure either. Bitcoin holds below $90,000, Ethereum stays under $3,000, and the entire space feels like it’s unwinding leverage and shaking out weak hands. Risk appetite is still fragile, and the whales might be seeing something smaller traders don’t.

Overall, this is a crossroads moment. Today gains hint at a potential setup for a year end rally, but the lack of conviction beneath the surface suggests the market might still be searching for its bottom line. If you want to dive deeper into the full stock-by-stock breakdown and what signals matter most right now, the complete analysis offers a sharper look beneath the headlines.

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