Market Morning Wrap - 15th Nov

Stock Market

On Friday Eastern Time, the three major U.S. indexes closed mixed, with investors shifting focus to Nvidia's upcoming earnings report and fretting over the Fed possibly sitting out a December rate cut.

 

The big indexes dipped more than 1% early on, then bargain hunters piled in, sending them on a choppy climb. Tech stocks clawed back, steadying the broader market, but things slipped again into the close.

 

Lately, sticky inflation signs have tanked bets on a Fed cut at the December meeting. CME's FedWatch tool shows the odds of a 25-basis-point trim now under 50%, down from 67% last week.

 

Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid kept pounding the no-cut drum that day, saying more easing risks baking in higher inflation instead of truly propping up jobs.

 

Dallas Fed's Logan hinted again she'd vote against a December cut—same as she did in October—citing worries that inflation's too high and trending up, taking forever to hit the Fed's 2% goal.

 

AI worries heated up this week too; Oracle's brutal slide from hot-favorite status spooked folks, spotlighting sky-high tech valuations plus risks from huge debt piles and exploding AI capex.

 

Nvidia, the AI chip king, takes center stage on Wall Street next week. Investors want fresh proof the race for AI dominance is still raging, not cooling off.

 

Mercer Advisors portfolio chief David Krakauer said: "AI's really stretching Wall Street models to the breaking point—folks are baking in tons of unmeasurable future growth into valuations, which just amps up the volatility. Prices are at extremes now, so even tiny tweaks to earnings or rates spark massive swings."

 

Horizon Investments research head Mike Dickson added: "Nvidia's report next week is a monster event—if it disappoints, the stock tanks hard. But like today, I'd bet dip-buyers rush back in quick to steady things."

 

On the global trade front, Switzerland's government said it struck a deal with the U.S., dropping tariffs on Swiss goods from 39% to 15%, in exchange for Swiss firms pumping $200 billion into the U.S. by end-2028.

Global Hotspots

U.S. and Switzerland Seal Breakthrough Trade Deal, Slashing Swiss Goods Tariffs to 15%  

 

Local time Friday, Switzerland's government announced a trade pact with the U.S., cutting tariffs on Swiss products from 39% to 15%. In return, Swiss companies pledged $200 billion in U.S. investments by end-2028.

 

Swiss Federal Councillor and Economy Minister Guy Parmelin, announcing the deal, said: "This trade agreement puts Switzerland on equal footing with the EU, dropping the tariff rate from 39% to 15%—it'll hit about 40% of our exports." Parmelin added: "Of course, we'd rather see that $200 billion invested at home. So the Federal Council is working in parallel to cut costs for our domestic firms."

 

U.S. Government Pulls Some Farm Goods Off "Reciprocal Tariff" List  

 

The White House released President Trump's latest executive order, tweaking the "reciprocal tariff" scope by exempting certain agricultural products from the extra duties under the prior order. The order notes that based on domestic demand and capacity reviews, plus agency advice, Trump sees the need to adjust the tariff list to address the "national emergency" declared in the original reciprocal tariff order.

 

The updated exemptions table and potential tweaks for "allied partners" kick in at 12:01 a.m. ET on Nov. 13, 2025. It also calls for changes to the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule and handling any tariff refunds as required.

 

Denmark Delivers €830 Million in Military Aid to Ukraine  

 

EU rotating chair Denmark posted on social media that it's wrapped up delivering a batch of weapons and gear worth nearly €830 million to Ukraine, funded by EU "windfall profits" from frozen Russian assets. This is the EU's second use of those profits for military support to Ukraine.

 

The gear aims to beef up Ukrainian forces' combat edge. Denmark said the handover's complete and it'll keep backing Ukraine alongside EU partners.

Company News

$230 iPhone Pocket Sells Out Instantly  

 

Local time Friday, long lines snaked outside Apple's SoHo store in New York as folks raced to snag the latest limited-drop: the iPhone Pocket, topping out at $230. A fashion designer there said: "The design's super cool—it's from Issey Miyake."

 

She owns a bunch of Miyake pieces like tops and pants, wanted a black long version, but it sold out minutes before she arrived. Apple's site shows just 10 global retail spots carrying it, with SoHo the only U.S. one. Others are in London, Milan, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Paris, and more big cities. Online sales opened too, but by Friday morning, all colors and sizes showed out of stock for delivery. Reports say Shanghai's Apple Jing'an store also sold out its iPhone Pockets Friday.

 

Walmart Taps John Furner for Next President and CEO  

 

U.S. retail behemoth Walmart announced Friday on its site that the board picked Walmart U.S. President and CEO John Furner to succeed Doug McMillon as company President and CEO. The release says the handoff hits Feb. 1, 2026; McMillon steps down Jan. 31, 2026, but stays on the board till the June 2026 shareholder meeting and advises Furner through fiscal 2027 for a smooth shift.

 

Insiders say McMillon pitched his own retirement. At an employee town hall, when asked if he'd run for U.S. president (given his Washington ties across admins), he shot back: "Not a chance."

 

Google Doubles Down in Texas with $40 Billion Data Center Push  

 

Google's eyeing $40 billion in Texas for three new data centers, bulking up as rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic drop billions in the state. Google said Friday this rolls out through 2027. One site's in Armstrong County, two in Haskell County. One Haskell spot pairs with a new solar-plus-battery setup to ease grid strain. "

 

This'll create thousands of jobs, train college kids and electrician apprentices, and speed up energy affordability across Texas," Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said at a Dallas-area event. Google already has two Texas data centers.

 

Berkshire Hathaway Discloses $4.3 Billion Fresh Alphabet Buy, Dumps More Apple Shares  

 

Berkshire Hathaway's 13F filing shows a Q3 scoop of $4.3 billion in Google parent Alphabet—17.85 million shares (Class A)—and another trim on Apple, Buffett's last big portfolio reveal before wrapping his 60-year CEO stint.

 

Berkshire cut Apple to 238.2 million shares from 280 million, having offloaded nearly three-quarters of its original 905 million stake. Apple still tops Berkshire's holdings at $60.7 billion.

Forex & Commodities

COMEX gold futures closed down 2.62% at $4,084/oz; COMEX silver down 5.2% at $50.40/oz.  

 

WTI crude futures up 2.15% at $59.95/barrel; Brent up 1.86% at $64.18/barrel.  

 

The dollar index against six major currencies rose 0.14% to close at 99.298.

Key Events

DBS: Rising U.S. Treasury Yields Could Back Dollar Rebound, Yen Faces Fiscal Risk Test  

 

DBS Group research strategist Zhang Weiliang's Nov. 14 note flags that climbing long-term U.S. yields and cooling Fed cut bets could halt the dollar's recent slide and spark a turnaround.

 

Japan's fuzzy fiscal budget adds yen volatility. The report notes weak overnight demand at the 30-year Treasury auction pushed long yields higher, propping the dollar. Plus, December cut odds eased from 66% last week to 50% now.

Cryptocurrency

Bitcoin down 4.11% in 24 hours to 95,321.69.  

 

Ethereum (ETH-USD) off 1.08% to $3,156.23.  

 

XRP (XRP-USD) down 1.38%, BNB (BNB-USD) up 0.51%, Solana (SOL-USD) down 1.76%.  

 

Dogecoin (DOGE-USD) down 1.62%, Cardano (ADA-USD) down 3.66%.

Key Events

Bear Market Hitting Crypto? Bitcoin Dips Below $95K to 6-Month Low, ETFs See $870M Single-Day Exodus  

 

With Fed December cut hopes fading fast, risk-off vibes crushed crypto Friday, Bitcoin hitting a six-month trough as ETF investors yanked nearly $900 million.  

 

Bitcoin briefly touched $94,978—lowest since May 7. That's three straight weeks of drops, down nearly 24% from early October's peak. Ethereum, the No. 2 crypto, fell 1.5% to $3,133.76.  

 

Media reports peg Thursday's Bitcoin ETF net outflows at ~$870 million, second-biggest daily pullout since launch. Nov. 13's crypto fear-and-greed index crashed to 15, lowest since Feb. this year. Last time it dipped under 20, Bitcoin tanked 25% in the next month.  

 

Crypto's still reeling from Oct. 10's $19 billion liquidation wave that shaved over $1 trillion off total market cap. CoinGlass data shows another $1 billion+ in leveraged positions wiped in the last 24 hours.