Nasdaq Heads for Best Thanksgiving Week Since 2008. How Bitcoin, Tech Can Drive More Gains.

Investors will be thankful for the recent stock market recovery as they tuck in to their turkey. (Dreamstime)

Key Points

• Bitcoin surged to $91,500, up 5% in 24 hours, indicating a potential increase in risk appetite for broader markets.
• The S&P 500 is up 3.2% this week, marking its best Thanksgiving week since 2012 and is 1.1% off its record close.
• The Nasdaq Composite has gained over 5% in the past four trading days, on track for its best holiday week since 2008.

Stocks are having their best Thanksgiving week since 2012 but as Americans around the country rush to put their turkeys in the oven even more market gains could be heating up.

That’s because cryptocurrencies—often a leading indicator of risk appetite—are surging. Bitcoin jumped to $91,500 early Thursday after sitting below the key $90,000 level as the stock market closed for the holiday. The world’s largest crypto is up 5% over the past 24 hours.

Stocks—tech names in particular—and cryptos often move in tandem but notably digital assets are moving higher Thursday without the support of their risk-asset allies.

It’s a bit of a chicken and egg conundrum. Which came first: the tech-stock gains or the crypto rally? But ultimately one tends to help the other. It works in reverse too, as the digital asset slump in recent weeks likely had an impact on broader sentiment, contributing to the pullback in equities.

“The declines seen over recent months have gone hand in hand with wider market declines, raising concern over the potential implications for equity markets if crypto continues to tumble,” Scope Markets analyst Joshua Mahony wrote Thursday. “With that in mind, the gains seen in bitcoin raise optimism for a similarly positive session for US stocks despite today’s holiday closure.”

That gives hope that the S&P 500 can build on its impressive recent run. The index is up 3.2% this week, on pace for its best Thanksgiving week since 2012, according to Dow Jones Market Data. It’s also on its best four-day run, up 4.1%, since May and now just 1.1% off its record close.

So much for a slump.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite is doing even better, on track for its best holiday week since 2008. It’s up more than 5% over the past four trading days. The Nasdaq is more closely aligned to crypto sentiment given its exposure to riskier stocks.

Investors may soon have even more to be thankful for.

Write to Callum Keown at callum.keown@dowjones.com