Stocks Fail to Hold Morning Gains Before Nvidia: Nov. 19, 2025

Animal spirits returned to Wall Street briefly with traders driving stocks higher in earlier trading ahead of a pivotal earnings report from AI leader Nvidia. Bulls are now hoping that the semiconductor behemoth serves a beat-and-raise, signaling an augmented pathway for the modern technology’s prospects, while bears are looking for a slowdown in enthusiasm. Meanwhile, technical patterns are top of mind for investors as we approach the company’s crucial announcement after the bell. This morning’s strong rebound has fallen short of reaching the 50-day moving average while yesterday’s intraday recovery began right at the 5% drawdown from the S&P 500’s peak. Indeed, it seems dip buyers awaited the significant level before accumulating more shares, as performance improved from that point.

Equity Prices Swing Considerably

Still, emblematic of a lack of conviction has been the sharp swings in trading occurring throughout this session as participants ponder whether they should stay in or not. Another major consideration is tomorrow’s September payroll report that is likely to shift the chances of a rate cut next month. Odds of the Fed taking such action are currently around a coin flip. The print will also provide a critical look into employment conditions at a time when private sector providers have depicted deterioration. In other markets, the greenback and the commodity complex minus lumber and crude oil are appreciating notably, Treasuries and volatility protection instruments are steady, and forecast contracts are catching bids. Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as a whole remain in the doldrums, signaling that retail speculation may be exhausted at this juncture.

An Eventful Two Days for Sentiment

Equities are at a crucial point with the S&P 500 having climbed above its 5% drawdown but remaining below the 50-day moving average. Investors are waiting for profitability information as well as economic data to either establish an increasingly bearish trend on the benchmark or a ferocious rebound to end the year. Nvidia’s numbers and the payroll report are pivotal and will both be in front of us in less than a few hours for the former and tomorrow morning for the latter. But the AI developments will carry more weight than jobs, since the print, which covers September, is stale, while economists and traders alike are in consensus that labor conditions are decelerating. The most important question for the world’s largest company heading into today’s earnings report is whether the heavy amount of dollars spent on AI will power corporate earnings for years to come, or if the prospects for long-term capital returns are slowing. We won’t know the specific answer, but the call will certainly offer a lot of clues. Also top of mind is if CEO Jensen Huang will talk about circularity worries reflected by Wall Street, with analysts thinking that maybe the technology won’t serve the significant breakthroughs in proportion to recent share price appreciation in the Magnificent 7 names. Additionally, depreciation concerns exist, or specifically the accounting process quantifying an extended useful life of the advanced semiconductors that some opine is being conducted to juice bottom-lines in the present. The good news for the bulls, however, is that the onset of chilly weather and earlier sunsets typically tilts opinions to glasses being half full, as seasonal effects tend to benefit stock owners in the months of November and December.

International Roundup

UK Inflation Eases

Price pressures in the UK eased slightly last month with the Consumer Price Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) climbing 0.4% month over month (m/m) and 3.8% year over year (y/y) compared to 0.6% and 4.1% in September, according to the Office for National Statistics. When excluding owner occupiers’ housing costs, the CPI was up 0.4% m/m, matching the economist consensus estimate, and 3.6% y/y, surpassing the 3.5% forecast. In September, prices were flat relative to August, but they jumped 3.8% year over year.

In a similar manner, the core CPI, which excludes items with volatile prices, was up 0.3% m/m and 3.4% y/y compared to estimates of 0.4% and 3.4% and September’s 0% and 3.5% results. Within the m/m CPIH, education was up 3.6% and was followed by the 1% jump for clothing and footwear. Household services, the food and non-alcoholic beverages group and the all goods category moved higher by 0.5%.

Australia Leading Indicator Strengthens

The Westpac–Melbourne Institute Leading Index strengthened last month, climbing from +0.10% in September to +0.35%, prompting an improved outlook for the country’s economic growth. The stronger reading points to gross domestic product (GDP) growing 2.4% year over year in 2026, a revision from Westpac Institutional Bank’s previous forecast of 1.8%.

The following factors contributed to the index’s upward change:

• The Westpac-MI Consumer Expectations Index, which is a subcomponent of the Leading Index, hit its first positive reading in four years. As such, it switched from being a drag on the leading indicator to a propeller.
• The country’s domestic equity market, as measured by the S&P/ASX 200 Index has gained.
• The number of hours worked has risen.
• The number of dwelling approvals has climbed slightly

More broadly, uncertainty regarding global trade from President Trump’s wide-scale tariffs has eased slightly, which has supported Australia’s economy. Conversely, consumer expectations for jobs deteriorated and industrial production provided a smaller contribution to the headline result.

While Wage Growth Meets Expectations

Hourly wages in Australia during the three month and 12-month periods ended in September climbed 0.8% quarter over quarter (q/q) and 3.4%, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The prints matched economist consensus estimates and repeated the results of the preceding quarter. Public sector wages were up 0.9% q/q and 3.8% for the 12-month interval while private sector hourly compensation ascended 0.7% and 3.2%.