In the end, Thursday looked like a market attempting to renegotiate its relationship with AI, tariffs and the Fed all at once—discovering, not for the first time, that even in an age of algorithms and GLP‑1s, gravity still has a vote.
Indexes and Fear soars
The S&P 500 spent the morning flirting with a deeper selloff prior to closing down 1.56% at 6,538.76. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fared a little better, closing down close to .84% at 45,752.26. The Nasdaq Composite staged the day’s main act: an early surge that morphed into a sharp reversal, ultimately finishing lower by more than 2.15% at 22,078.05 as AI darlings swung from heroes to suspects in a single session. The Russell 2000 also took a hit dropping 1.82% at 2,305.11 at the close. The markets fear gauge The VIX jumped once again closing at 426.42, +11.67% and is now up a whopping 33.23% over the last 5-days.
Macroeconomic data and shutdown aftershocks
The macro calendar was headlined by a long‑delayed September jobs report, finally released after the recent government shutdown, showing payroll growth of 119,000, a touch better than expected, even as the unemployment rate climbed to 4.4%, its highest level since 2021. Wage growth remained moderate at 0.2% for the month and 3.8% year over year, a combination that keeps the “softish landing” story alive but gives nobody at the Fed permission to relax. Weekly jobless claims slipped to 220,000, reinforcing the picture of a labor market that is cooling, but not cracking, even as agencies scramble to catch up on a backlog of economic releases now being rescheduled post‑shutdown.
Fed, yields and the curve
Treasuries spent the day grinding as investors weighed firmer labor data against lingering growth worries, with the 10‑year yield sliding toward roughly 4.09% & the 2-yr closing lower at 3.545%. The curve remained inverted across key maturities, an ongoing reminder that the bond market still believes in a future slowdown even as equity traders continue to rent optimism on a daily basis. Fed officials, still navigating policy with patchy data after the shutdown, signaled caution about further rate cuts, leaving markets betting on a slower and more begrudging easing path heading into the December FOMC decision.
Tariffs, trade and Washington backdrop
Trade policy remained a live wire: the administration prepared an order to lower tariffs on a range of consumer staples such as beef, tomatoes, coffee and bananas, even as broader Trump‑era tariff frameworks—on China and select Latin American partners—continue to reshape global supply chains. At the same time, the White House moved to provide targeted tariff relief on agricultural staples, sending a small wave of relief through food and retail supply chains that have been whiplashed by rolling trade actions. On Capitol Hill, the government shutdown is now officially in the rearview mirror after ending on November 12, but the political compromise that reopened agencies simply kicked the next subsidies fight into December, ensuring fiscal drama remains a recurring feature rather than a one‑off shock.
Walmart
Walmart’s (WMT, $107.11, +6.46%) latest earnings report is a masterclass in retail resilience, with the Bentonville behemoth posting a 5.8% year-over-year revenue jump to $179.5 billion for Q3 2025—exceeding Wall Street’s expectations by a healthy margin. The numbers tell a story of disciplined execution: same-store sales rose 4.5%, e-commerce surged by 28%, and the retailer’s global advertising arm saw a 53% spike in revenue, fueled by its Walmart Connect retail media business. As the holiday shopping season looms, Walmart is not just surviving inflation and cautious consumers—it’s thriving, thanks to a relentless focus on affordability, operational efficiency, and a tech-forward strategy that’s redefining the retail landscape.
Big pharma and chips: Eli Lilly and TSMC
Eli Lilly (LLY, $1,043.29, -.60%) spent another session basking in the rarefied air near a $1 trillion valuation, with investors still willing to pay up for GLP‑1‑powered growth even as valuation metrics hover well above sector norms. The company’s obesity and diabetes franchise continues to convince the market that Lilly is less a pharma name and more an annuity on global waistlines, keeping the stock’s year‑to‑date gains (+35.14%) materially ahead of peers. Analyst estimates for 2025 and 2026 have marched steadily higher over the past month, reinforcing the sense that multiple expansion is at least partially backed by rising earnings power.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM, $277.50, -1,.72%) have analysts maintaining a broadly bullish stance after the company recently beat earnings expectations, delivered 40% year‑over‑year revenue growth, and boosted its dividend. Shares have been trading near record territory, reflecting investors’ view that TSMC has become a tollbooth operator on the global AI build‑out, collecting margin every time another hyperscaler decides it needs more cutting‑edge capacity. With return on equity north of 36% and a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, the stock remains firmly embedded in the market’s shortlist of AI hardware champions.
Mega‑cap tech: Alphabet, NVIDIA, Apple, Tesla, Broadcom, Meta
Alphabet (GOOG, $289.98) spent the second half of the day on the defensive, with the communication‑services sector under pressure and the stock trading lower as investors took profits in names that had led much of this year’s rally. Despite the pullback, the company remains central to AI and cloud narratives, keeping it squarely in the camp of “essential but occasionally over‑owned” in portfolio manager conversations and is up 52.27% YTD.
NVIDIA (NVDA, $80.64, -3.15%) delivered the latest installment of its high‑stakes AI saga, with shares sliding roughly 3% even after strong earnings as investors fretted that capex‑heavy AI spending might be starting to resemble a gold rush where shovels have become uncomfortably expensive. The stock’s reversal weighed heavily on the broader Nasdaq and reignited chatter about whether AI valuations have sprinted too far ahead of cash flows, at least for this stage of the cycle.
Apple (AAPL, $266.25, -.86%) traded in sympathy with the broader mega‑cap complex, caught between a resilient installed base and recurring questions about iPhone growth, China exposure, and the durability of its services‑driven multiple. The name remains a cornerstone in many large portfolios, which means days of macro‑driven de‑risking often translate into mechanical selling pressure rather than any dramatic change in the long‑term thesis and is up 632% YTD.
Tesla (TSLA, $395.23, -2.17%) continued its habit of turning every macro wobble into a volatility showcase, with the stock caught between concerns over EV demand, intensifying competition and the promise of software‑driven margins and AI‑enabled autonomy. As usual, the market treated the name less like an automaker and more like an option on several possible futures, some profitable, others merely cinematic.
Broadcom (AVGO, $346.82, -2.14%) stayed near the center of the AI and networking trade, having recently logged outsized gains alongside other big‑cap chip names that feed data‑center demand. Investors continue to reward the company’s mix of semiconductor and software franchises, viewing it as a diversified way to stay exposed to AI and cloud spending without going all‑in on a single product cycle and is up +49.59% YTD.
Meta Platforms (META, $589.15, -.20%) saw choppy trading as the market weighed still‑robust engagement and advertising growth against elevated capex plans for AI infrastructure and the company’s ongoing metaverse ambitions. The stock remains emblematic of the current AI moment: high cash generation underwriting high experimentation, with the market alternately celebrating and second‑guessing that equation and is up .62% YTD.
Nokia, McDonald’s, Rio Tinto, Oracle and Intel
Nokia (NOK, $5.87, -2.65%) remained more of a macro and telecom‑cycle proxy than a momentum favorite, with the market still focused on when carrier capex and 5G spending will re‑accelerate enough to lift the company’s top line. Sentiment around the network equipment space remains cautious amid uneven global deployment trends and pricing pressure and the stock is up +32.51% YTD.
McDonald’s (MCD, $304.16, +.47%) traded as a defensive stalwart, with its global footprint and pricing power keeping the stock in favor among investors seeking earnings resilience in a world of volatile rates and tariffs. Even as input costs and wage pressures ebb and flow, the chain’s ability to adjust menus and price points continues to underpin steady cash generation and is up 4.92% YTD with ~2.46% forward dividend.
Rio Tinto Group (RIO, $68.78, -.94%) spent the day shadowing the broader materials complex, where concerns about global growth and China’s industrial demand left miners struggling to gain traction. With the yield curve signaling slower growth ahead, the market remains wary of cyclical exposures tied to steel, construction and heavy industry, but shares are up +16.95% YTD with a heathery +5.37% forward dividend.
Oracle (ORCL, $210.69, -6.58%) after recently enjoying support from its expanding cloud and AI‑adjacent database franchises.. As enterprises slowly modernize legacy workloads, Oracle’s cloud transition continues to earn it a place in many AI and infrastructure baskets, whiles shares are up +26.43% YTD.
Intel (INTC, $33.62, -4.24%) traded in the long shadow of higher‑growth chip peers, as investors balanced optimism about its foundry ambitions and government‑backed domestic capacity against the reality of execution risk and still‑modest profitability in newer initiatives. In the current market, Intel is currently being treated less like a pure AI winner and more like a turnaround‑plus‑industrial‑policy story, however shares are up 67.68% YTD.
M&A and IPOs: Abbott–Exact Sciences and new listings
Deal‑makers finally stole a bit of the AI spotlight as Abbott confirmed plans to acquire Exact Sciences (EXAS, $100.67, +16.81%) in a cash transaction valuing the cancer‑diagnostics specialist at roughly $21–23 billion, or about $105 per share. Exact Sciences shares surged more than 17% while Abbott (ABT) slipped 1.73% to $123.97, a textbook reaction when the prey is pricey but strategically prized. The deal folds Cologuard and Oncotype DX into Abbott’s broader diagnostics empire, diversifying away from fading COVID testing revenue and signaling that large‑cap healthcare is willing to pay up for durable oncology growth.
On the new‑issue front, Central Bancompany (CBCY, $23.75) made its market debut on Nasdaq, pricing 17.8 million Class A shares at 21 dollars each, with trading beginning today and gross proceeds estimated around 373 million dollars before fees. While overall 2025 IPO volumes have already run more than 60% ahead of last year, today’s listing underscored that financials—especially in areas perceived as insulated from tariff turbulence—remain in demand.
Commodities: gold, silver and oil
Gold drifted lower by .12% to $4,077.00/oz.. Even with today’s slippage, bullion remains elevated on a multi‑month view, supported by lingering geopolitical risk and the prospect of slower—but not reversed—Fed easing. Silver fared worse in percentage terms, sliding roughly 1.02% to $50.335 as traders leaned into the metal’s dual identity as both precious and industrial, a combination that has struggled to shine in the face of global growth worries. Crude oil prices dropped again by .83% to $58.76/bbl.
Crypto: bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) slipped back below the psychologically charged 90,000‑dollar level, dropping -3.19% to $87,448.65.
VP Watchlist Updates
Modular Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: MODD., $.4470), a leader in innovative insulin delivery technology targeting the $3 billion adult “almost-pumpers” diabetes market with user-friendly, affordable patch pumps, today (Nov. 17) announced Institutional Review Board (“IRB”) approval to conduct an in-house study of its next-generation Pivot™ insulin delivery system using insulin on people with diabetes (the “Study”). Pursuant to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) regulations, an IRB is a group that has been formally designated to review and monitor biomedical research involving human subjects. The Study will simulate real-world conditions by delivering insulin to adult participants to gather critical data on device function and usability and obtain user feedback. Modular Medical’s Pivot tubeless patch pump aims to enhance accessibility for underserved patients with diabetes and drive market penetration and expansion. On Nov. 14, Modular Medical announced the 510(k) premarket submission of its next generation Pivot™ tubeless patch pump to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”). The Company expects to commence the commercial launch of its Pivot pump in Q1 2026. On Nov. 3, Modular Medical the successful validation of its Pivot controller line, a critical milestone in preparing for the commercial launch of its Pivot patch pump targeted for Q1 2026. The Pivot controller line validation further demonstrates manufacturing readiness for high-volume production, positioning Modular Medical to meet the growing demand in the diabetes treatment market for advanced technology.
Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: EPRX, $6.21, +.16%), a clinical-stage biotechnology company leveraging its proprietary Diffusphere™ technology to optimize local, controlled drug delivery for diseases with significant unmet need, announced (Nov. 13) the second set of 52-week follow up data from its ongoing Phase 1b/2a RESOLVE trial evaluating a single administration EP-104GI for the treatment of eosinophilic esophagitis (“EoE”). James A. Helliwell, Chief Executive Officer of Eupraxia stated, “These data further highlight the strong durability and tolerability profile of EP-104GI, reinforcing its potential to become a convenient, once-a-year treatment that fits seamlessly into routine disease management by aligning with annual patient endoscopies. The Cohorts 5 & 6 patients – the only groups to have reached 52 weeks in the trial – are demonstrating levels of symptom relief that is durable and clinically meaningful – we are very encouraged by this outcome. We’re also pleased that our previously announced 52-week data were presented as a late-breaking presentation at the American College of Gastroenterology Annual Scientific Meeting (ACG). These new results build on that momentum. Given that current EoE therapies often struggle with long-term adherence, we believe a durable, once-yearly treatment could meaningfully improve patient outcomes and establish EP-104GI as a preferred option for both physicians and their patients.”
GeoVax Labs, Inc. (Nasdaq: GOVX, $.4011), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing multi-antigen vaccines and immunotherapies for infectious diseases and cancer, reported (Nov. 13) its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2025, and provided a business update highlighting key corporate and clinical advancements across its vaccine and oncology programs. David Dodd, CEO of Geovax stated, “As highlighted in this report, during the third quarter GeoVax continued making important progress, advancing innovative vaccines and immunotherapies that address urgent and underserved medical needs. With continued global Mpox spread and constrained vaccine supply, our GEO-MVA program represents a U.S.-based, scalable, next-generation MVA platform. Our EMA and BARDA-aligned program position GeoVax to accelerate regulatory readiness and commercial entry. For our GEO-CM04S1 COVID-19 vaccine program, recent clinical presentations validate our belief that multi-antigen vaccines – expressing both spike and nucleocapsid – are essential for breadth and durability in vulnerable immunocompromised populations. In particular, the robust immune responses demonstrated in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) patients represents a meaningful step forward in addressing the unmet needs of over 40 million immunocompromised Americans. In our Gedeptin(R) oncology program, the expansion into multiple solid tumor indications builds upon a growing recognition that tumor-targeted immune priming can dramatically improve checkpoint outcomes. We are executing a clear path to clinical and commercial value creation. GeoVax continues to execute with purpose and discipline. Our multi-antigen vaccine and immunotherapy platforms position the Company squarely within the national call to strengthen America’s health security, expand domestic manufacturing, and deliver equitable global solutions.”
Volato Group, Inc. (NYSE American: SOAR, $1.07) and M2i Global, Inc. (MTWO, $.0999, +.10%) announced (Oct. 16) the next phase of development of the digital and commercial infrastructure underpinning the U.S. Strategic Mineral Reserve (SMR). M2i initiated the SMR framework and technical specifications earlier this year. Volato is now applying its proven enterprise-software expertise to build and operationalize the secure technology backbone that will support critical mineral traceability, contracting, and compliance across the United States and allied nations. This infrastructure is being developed to serve as the market-facing layer of the U.S. Strategic Mineral Reserve initiative, providing miners, refiners, recyclers, manufacturers, and government entities with a trusted environment for physical critical mineral transactions—with verified provenance, end-to-end custody visibility, and regulatory compliance at its core.
Serina Therapeutics (NYSE American: SER, $3.76) stands at a pivotal juncture as it harnesses fresh capital, regulatory momentum, and a sharpened communications strategy to propel its lead program, SER-252, into late-stage clinical testing for advanced Parkinson’s diseas. The Alabama-based biotech is betting its proprietary POZ platform and reimagined approach to apomorphine delivery may redefine the treatment paradigm for patients who have exhausted standard oral therapies.
The InterGroup Corporation (NASDAQ: INTG, $32.85) reported results (Oct. 9) for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025, including improved segment income in Hotel and Real Estate, increased liquidity, the alleviation of going-concern uncertainty at majority-owned subsidiary Portsmouth Square, Inc., and the Company’s return to compliance with Nasdaq listing requirements.
Exact Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ: EXAS, $86.18, +23.68%), a leading provider of cancer screening and diagnostic tests, announced (Nov. 7) pivotal clinical validation results from the ALTUS study (NCT: 05064553). The prospective, head-to-head trial demonstrated that the company’s Oncoguard® Liver blood test delivers superior early-stage and overall sensitivity for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) — the most common form of liver cancer — compared to the current standard of care.
Nokia (NOK, 5.87) is promising investors a sleeker, AI‑age version of itself by 2028, aiming to lift profits by as much as 60% while quietly admitting that the road there runs through a restructuring zone. The market, in classic fashion, responded to this vision of future riches by sending the stock currently lower on the day, but is currently up +45.54% over the last year at $6.04
Jyong Biotech Ltd. (Nasdaq: MENS, $32,80, +12.44%), a science-driven biotechnology company based in Taiwan committed to developing and commercializing innovative and differentiated new drugs (plant-derived) mainly specializing in the treatment of urinary system diseases, with an initial focus on the markets of the U.S., the EU and Asia, today announced that it has achieved another milestone in the development of its plant-derived new drug MCS-8 (PCP).
PACS Group, Inc. (NYSE: PACS, 26.14, +55.32%), which together with its subsidiaries is one of the largest post-acute healthcare companies in the United States, announced (Nov. 19) operating results for the third quarter of 2025. The Company has completed the previously announced Restatement of its financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2024, and for the three and six months ended on June 30, 2024 (the “Restatement”), and is current with its SEC filing obligations.
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