MARKET WRAPS
STOCKS: Stocks rallied as traders digested delayed wholesale inflation and retail-sales data.
TREASURYS: Treasury yields fell amid growing anticipation of a Federal Reserve rate cut.
FOREX: The U.S. dollar fell against rivals as odds of a rate cut increased.
COMMODITIES: Oil futures fell as Ukraine reportedly signaled support for U.S. peace proposals.
HEADLINES
Wholesale Price Gains Hint at Muted Rise in Fed's Preferred Inflation Gauge
Higher energy and food costs lifted wholesale prices in September, the Labor Department said Tuesday, though certain items that feed into the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation metric are likely to leave that reading little changed from recent months.
After declining by 0.1% in August, prices charged by producers rose by 0.3% in September, in line with economists' expectations. The producer-price index tends to be more volatile than the prices that consumers see in stores and online.
Excluding food and energy, the PPI rose by less than forecast and climbed 2.6% from a year ago, the mildest increase since July 2024.
HP to Cut Up to 10% of Workforce as Part of AI Push
HP plans to cut up to 10% of its workforce as it invests further in artificial intelligence, a move its chief executive sees as essential to maintaining its competitive edge.
The computer and printer maker estimates about 4,000 to 6,000 employees will be impacted by the end of fiscal 2028. It employed about 58,000 people as of its latest annual filing.
Chief Executive Enrique Lores said the restructuring plan is part of a push to adopt AI across the company to accelerate product and software development as well as automate customer support and some internal processes.
Consumer Confidence Fades and Retail Sales Growth Cools
Shutdown-delayed data showed American consumers closed out the third quarter on a cautious footing, while a measure of consumer confidence tumbled in November.
Taken together, the new and older data suggest the U.S. economy is heading into the all-important holiday season buffeted by a cooling labor market, continued inflationary pressures and signs consumers were easing their pace of spending and searching for bargains.
Retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in September from the prior month, the Commerce Department said. That fell short of economists' expectations for a 0.3% rise, as shoppers reined in purchases in a number of key categories affected by tariffs, including vehicles, electronics and clothing. At the same time, consumers boosted spending at bars and restaurants, personal-care stores and on furniture.
U.S. Home Prices Slow Further Amid Affordability Concerns
U.S. home prices rose in September, though the pace of growth continued to slow as elevated mortgage rates and affordability concerns hit demand.
The S&P Cotality Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, which measures home prices across the country, rose 1.3% in the 12 months through September, compared with a revised 1.4% rise in August. This represents the weakest performance since mid-2023.
"For context, this represents the weakest annual price growth since early 2023, when the market was absorbing the initial shock of the Federal Reserve's aggressive rate-hiking cycle," said Nicholas Godec at S&P Dow Jones Indices.
Kohl's Shares Rocket Higher as Retailer Lifts Outlook
Kohl's shares surged 35% Tuesday after the retailer raised its full-year outlook and posted a surprise quarterly profit, saying its turnaround is gaining momentum.
The earnings report came a day after Kohl's officially named Michael Bender as its chief executive. Bender had served as the retailer's interim CEO since May, after its then-chief, Ashley Buchanan, was fired for violating the company's ethics code.
The department-store chain has been trying to reverse course after years of missteps and sales declines. As well as naming a new CEO, it has been repositioning some departments in its stores and restoring previously scaled-back categories.
Best Buy Raises Outlook as Consumers Spend on Tech Upgrades
Best Buy Chief Executive Corie Barry said consumers across income groups are spending on new laptops, videogame consoles and cellphones, the latest sign of strength for the American shopper.
If shoppers feel they are getting a good value "they are willing to spend when they need to or when there is innovation," Barry said on a call with reporters Tuesday.Shoppers are buying when they spot a sale, when they need something such as a new computer or when a new electronics update tempts them, like the new Windows 11 operating systems and updated gaming consoles.
The company's comparable sales, those from stores, digital channels and call centers operating for at least 14 months, rose 2.7% in the quarter ended Nov. 1, the strongest quarterly lift at Best Buy since 2021 when the pandemic spurred a surge in electronics purchasing. The company raised its full-year sales and profit guidance.
AI Startup Suno Inks Warner Music Deal, Settling Litigation
Warner Music Group has made a deal with artificial intelligence music-generator Suno that will let the startup launch new models based on licensed songs.
The agreement settles Warner's copyright litigation against Suno.
Suno's platform allows users to generate songs based on text prompts. Suno will launch new models next year and require users to be paid subscribers to download songs, the companies said.
Dick's Sporting Goods Boosts Outlook, Promises to Revive Foot Locker Brand
Dick's Sporting Goods said its namesake banner continues to perform well and that its acquisition of Foot Locker represents a major growth opportunity, despite the brand's current challenges.
The retailer on Tuesday raised the full-year outlook for its namesake brand and said it will take decisive actions to "clean out the garage" at Foot Locker, including clearing inventory and closing underperforming stores.
"Let me be candid," Executive Chairman Ed Stack said on a call with analysts. "When we announced this acquisition, we knew that business was going to need work."
Abercrombie & Fitch Narrows Outlook as Quarterly Sales Gain
Abercrombie & Fitch narrowed its full-year outlook toward the high end of its range after sales rose in the third quarter.
The clothing company on Tuesday raised the low end of its full-year sales outlook to up 6% from up 5%, while maintaining the high end at up 7%. It also increased the floor of its earnings outlook to $10.20 a share from $10 a share, while maintaining a ceiling of $10.50 a share.
For its quarter ended Nov. 1, Abercrombie posted a profit of $113 million, compared with $132 million, a year earlier. Quarterly earnings of $2.36 a share topped analyst expectations for $2.17 a share, according to FactSet.
TALKING POINT New Ways to Minimize Taxes on Your Investments-and Why It's Especially Important Now
Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. once said, "I like to pay taxes. With them, I buy civilization."
He might have been the only rich person ever to feel this way. For those who don't, there are many strategies for reducing their tax bills, and increasingly, some newer ones for harvesting capital losses to offset taxable capital gains. Below are a few to consider this tax season. You can implement some strategies yourself, while others require working with a financial advisor.
Exchange-traded funds are inherently tax efficient and worthy options for many individual investors. For instance, the $1.5 trillion Vanguard S&P 500 ETF generally doesn't distribute taxable capital gains because of its indexed ETF structure, although it does distribute taxable dividends.
The S&P 500 benchmark, even when tracked in the less-efficient mutual fund form, holds most of its stocks forever, so it doesn't realize taxable capital gains on appreciated shares. Moreover, in the ETF form, fund managers can unload appreciated stock shares to financial intermediaries known as authorized participants, instead of selling those stocks' shares and forcing a taxable distribution to occur. Thus investors avoid nondividend-related taxes as long as they hold the ETF.
But deferring a tax on a gain isn't the same as eliminating the tax altogether. Simply buying and holding ETFs long term doesn't spare you from taxes if you need to sell them at some point down the road, especially as the indexes many of them track have gone up so much in recent years. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF has doubled in value in the past five years and more than tripled in value in the past 10. Investors looking to sell that appreciated ETF to fund their retirement won't be happy with the tax bill.
--Lewis Braham, Barron's
Expected Major Events for Wednesday
05:00/JPN: Oct Supermarket sales
05:00/JPN: Sep Indexes of Business Conditions - Revision
08:59/JPN: Nov Monthly Economic Report
12:00/US: 11/21 MBA Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey
13:30/US: Sep Advance Report on Durable Goods
13:30/US: Oct Advance Economic Indicators Report - To Be Rescheduled
13:30/US: 11/22 Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report - Initial Claims
14:45/US: Nov Chicago Business Barometer - ISM-Chicago Business Survey - Chicago PMI
15:30/US: 11/21 EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report
17:00/US: 11/21 EIA Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report
19:00/US: U.S. Federal Reserve Beige Book
23:50/JPN: Nov Provisional Trade Statistics for 1st 10 days of Month
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Expected Earnings for Wednesday
ADF Group Inc (DRX.T) is expected to report $0.22 for 3Q.
BQE Water Inc (BQE.V) is expected to report for 3Q.
Calian Group Ltd (CGY.T) is expected to report $0.32 for 4Q.
Deere & Co (DE) is expected to report $3.89 for 4Q.
Exco Technologies Ltd (XTC.T) is expected to report $0.29 for 4Q.
Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Co $(HOFV)$ is expected to report for 3Q.
Jewett-Cameron Trading Co Ltd (JCT-T,JCTC) is expected to report for 4Q.
Lee Enterprises Inc $(LEE)$ is expected to report for 4Q.
Mega Matrix Inc (MPU) is expected to report for 3Q.
Office Properties Income Trust $(OPITS)$ is expected to report for 3Q.
Orvana Minerals Corp (ORV.T,ORVMF) is expected to report for 4Q.
Royale Energy Inc (ROYL) is expected to report for 3Q.
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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 25, 2025 16:46 ET (21:46 GMT)
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