Daily summary: Tech leads Wall Street rally, dollar stable despite dovish Fed (21.11.2025)

Tech sector euphoria erased all losses from Thursday’s sell-off on Wall Street. Nasdaq leads gains (US100: +2.5%), followed by Russell 2000 (US2000: +1.7%), boosted by renewed hopes for a December US rate cut. S&P 500 (US500: +1.6%) and DJIA (US30: +0.65%) also trade higher.

Alphabet shares surge above $300 (GOOGL.US: +6%), supported by the launch of its latest AI language model, Gemini 3, and a new NATO cloud services contract. Fed’s Christopher Waller advocated a December rate cut, citing a still-weak US labor market and moderate inflation expectations, while noting Fed divisions and uncertainty from January onwards.

European index futures trade mostly lower. CAC40 leads losses (FRA40: -0.6%) amid defense stock drops following Ukraine peace plan proposals. UK100 (-0.35%), SUI20 (-0.3%), and ITA40 (-0.2%) also decline. Only DE40 (+0.1%) and SPA35 (+0.3%) show modest gains.

Novo Nordisk shares fall to a four-year low (NOVOB.DK: -5.3%) after Alzheimer’s trials for semaglutide failed to slow cognitive decline, despite biomarker improvements. Investors see this as another setback amid prior sell-offs and rising obesity and diabetes drug competition. Preliminary results will be shared in December; full data in 2026.

Germany’s Ifo business climate index unexpectedly dropped from 88.4 to 88.1 (Bloomberg consensus: 88.5).

FX markets see a relatively calm start, with the dollar index flat, moderating weakness against most currencies amid Fed’s dovish narrative, balanced by gains versus MXN and broad JPY weakness. EURUSD rises 0.1% to 1.152.

Precious metals trade higher, partially on ETF buying. Platinum (+2.25%) leads, supported by reports of ongoing supply shortages. Gold adds 1.1% to $4,113/oz, silver +1.9% to $50.95/oz.

Brent and WTI rebound ~1.4%, breaking a three-day losing streak, while NATGAS corrects -1.3% after a prior rebound. Bitcoin stabilizes post-selloff, up 0.5% to ~$88,350; Ethereum gains 3.8% to $2,950.