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Out of nowhere, on a holiday week no less, it seemed the stock market got a bid.

The result was weekly gains for all the major averages. The Standard & Poor's 500 ended about 1% below its 52-week high, and Eli Lilly ended the week still sporting a market capitalization of $1 trillion.

In the process, the pharmaceutical giant joined Berkshire Hathaway as the only non-tech related companies with market caps of $1 trillion or more.

The week's positive finish now raises three questions:

• Can the stock market continue its bullish run?

• What's the outlook for December?

• Can we start to hazard a guess about 2026?

Theoretically, the run can continue its run this week and maybe into next week when the Federal Reserve meets to discuss interest rates and the economy. The consensus (if the CME Group's FedWatch tool is an indicator) is a rate cut is probable.

Related: Fed splits ahead of key December meeting as rate-cut debate grows

We say this for two reasons:

John Williams, a key Fed official (because he's president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank), said the risks of an economic slowdown were bigger than more inflation. So, interest rate could come down.

Moreover, the S&P 500 (and the market generally) has just enjoyed five straight gains and ended Friday only 1% below its 6,920 all-time high reached on Oct. 29.

We should add the rally was basically prompted by Williams' speech, given in Chile on Nov, 21.

As a result, something would have to derail the market. It would have to be an event: A shock runup in bond yields or oil prices, a terrorism attack, explosion in the Middle East or Ukraine, a sudden resignation no one expects.

Related: T.J. Maxx, Marshalls buck major customer problem

Looking ahead to end-of-year

Could that mean the market could rally through to December as well? Maybe. There are only 22 trading days left in 2025. So, again, you need an abrupt, serious problem.

The market's recent pullback was set off by worries that Big Tech, especially Meta Platforms, Google-parent Alphabet, Tesla and Oracle, was investing too much money on artificial intelligence capacity. That is, huge data centers filled with racks of computers tied together with AI chips.

That worry is probably still on many investors' minds, but you won't see it erupt again until the latter half of January when fourth-quarter earnings reports start.

This is not to deny the attention the recent market pullback received.  Through Nov. 20, the S&P 500 and fell 5.5% and the Nasdaq Composite fell more than 8% after hitting all-time highs on Oct. 29. (The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 5.5% from its all-time high, reached on Nov. 12.) The pullback was a surprise, and it actually did need a catalyst to calm investors.

The catalyst was John Williams' speech.

His speech puts a floor under the market for now. And we wait for the Fed's big event.

Related: General Motors makes a harsh decision as EVs falter

How November ended

November, normally one of the better months of the year, closed flat to modestly lower. Nvidia was down 12.6%. Microsoft dropped 5%. Meta slipped 1%. Alphabet jumped almost 14%.

The S&P 500 and Dow were basically flat. The Nasdaq and Nasdaq-100 Index each fell about 1.5%.

Three interesting exceptions: Walmart jumped 9.2% in November. Berkshire Hathaway rose 7.6% as Warren Buffett prepares to step down as CEO at the end of the month. Costco Wholesale was up slightly, thanks to a 3.1% gain starting after Monday.

And interest rates mostly moved lower anticipating the Fed's Dec. 10 decision. The 10-year Treasury bond was yielding about 4% on Friday, down from 4.6% when 2025 opened. The 30-year mortgage rate is just above 6.2%, down from 7.25% in January.

The major averages showing a decent year stocks:

• The S&P 500 finished Friday up 16.45% for the year.

• The Nasdaq is up 21% for 2025.

• The Dow industrials are up 12.2%.

• The Russell 2000 Index is up 12.1%.

The Magnificent Seven stocks dominate

Part of the unease about the market in recent weeks has much to do with how the gains have been built.

Consider the S&P 500. About 49% of its 38.6% total return since the market bottom in April 2025 (stock price gain plus dividends) came just from the Magnificent Seven stocks: Apple, Alphabet, Amazon.com, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla, according to S&P Senior Index analyst Howard Silverblatt.

When asked, Silverblatt said he didn't believe the S&P 500's total return in any period was so dominated by such a small group of stocks.

For the year to date, the index is up 17.8% on a total return basis. Without the Mag Seven stocks, the total return falls to 10.24%.

Related: Like it or not, AI use is expanding, in business and life

Ahead this week

The latest round of earnings reports is winding up with just 111 companies reporting quarterly results this week. Here are the key reports:

Monday

• Credo Technology, maker of connectors for computer applications.

• Database developer MongoDB.

Tuesday

• Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike Holdings

• Bank of Nova Scotia

• Marvell Technology

• American Eagle Outfitters

Wednesday

• Software developer Salesforce

• Canadian banking giant Royal Bank of Canada

• Software developer Snowflake

• Discount retailer DollarTree.

Thursday

• Three Canadian banking giants: Toronto Dominion Bank, Bank of Montreal, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

• Supermarket giant Kroger

• Tech giant Hewlett-Packard Enterprise

• Beauty merchant Ulta Beauty

Friday

• Uranium process Uranium Energy

• Management consultants Korn Ferry

Related: Palantir’s AI push tests bears who doubt it can keep winning

This story was originally published by TheStreet on Nov 30, 2025, where it first appeared in the Investing section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.