US Markets Open Higher as Rate Cut Expectations Strengthen: Dow, Nasdaq & S&P 500 Rise
US markets opened higher on November 21, 2025, as rate cut expectations strengthened after New York Fed President John Williams hinted at near-term easing. Here’s how Dow Jones, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 performed.
US stock markets open higher as rate cut expectations grow, with Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq gaining on November 21, 2025.
Wall Street opened in the green on Friday as growing optimism around a potential Federal Reserve rate cut boosted investor sentiment. The Dow Jones, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 all edged higher after comments from New York Fed President John Williams signaled that interest rates may be lowered as early as next month.
📈 Why Are Markets Rising?
Speaking earlier in the day, John Williams suggested there is “room for a further adjustment in the near term” without risking inflation — fueling hopes of a December rate cut.
“I view monetary policy as modestly restrictive… I still see room for further adjustment,” Williams said, as reported by Reuters.
According to CME FedWatch, traders now assign a 73.1% probability that the Fed will cut rates by 25 basis points, lowering the benchmark range to 3.5–3.75%. Meanwhile, 26.9% expect rates to remain unchanged.
🏦 Dow Jones Today
Opening Level: 45,808.65 (+0.12%)
Latest Quote (10:39 a.m. EDT): 45,884.62 (+0.29%)
Top gainers included:
Sherwin-Williams, Home Depot, UnitedHealth, Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Visa, Apple, Johnson & Johnson, and McDonald’s.
Stocks dragging the index lower included:
Chevron, Salesforce, Boeing, Amazon, Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, and NVIDIA.
💻 Nasdaq Today
Opening Level: 22,162.83 (+0.38%)
Latest Quote (11:22 a.m. EDT): 22,085.37 (+0.08%)
Gainers:
Opthea Ltd ADR, Foxx Development Holdings, Robo.ai Inc., Nuvve Holding Corp., Mobile-Health Network Solutions.
Losers:
Heartbeam Inc., FAT Brands, New Fortress Energy, HeartSciences Inc., Creative Media & Community Trust Corp.
📊 S&P 500 Today
Opening Level: 6,555.77 (+0.26%)
Latest Quote (11:23 a.m. EDT): 6,560.42 (+0.30%)
Top performers included:
Ross Stores, D.R. Horton, Intuit, HP Inc., United Parcel Service, and Lennar Corp.
Losers included:
Oracle, CrowdStrike, Arista Networks, Seagate, Vistra Corp., and Broadcom.
