How I Made $5000 in the Stock Market

Stock Markets Are Spooked by Fed Rate-Cut Doubts. It’s Too Early to Panic.

Nov 14, 2025 06:39:00 -0500 | #Markets #The Barron's Daily

(Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

How quickly things can change. Markets have swung from euphoria to fright in the space of barely a week but it’s not clear that the fundamental dynamics of the U.S. economy or corporate profits have altered all that much.

The driving force of the stock selloff on Thursday was the rapid repricing of expectations of a December rate cut by the Federal Reserve. From a near-certainty a month ago, traders now see it as a coin toss, according to the CME FedWatch tool. That led to the S&P 500 ’s worst day in over a month, led by an exodus from shares exposed to the artificial-intelligence trade.

The growing rate-cut doubts were driven by hawkish commentary from Fed speakers and the White House suggesting that we are unlikely to see October’s unemployment rate.

Investors are playing it safe, but it seems too early to panic. Economists at RBC estimate that the U.S. economy likely added around 30,000 jobs in October, however, that excludes the effects of the government shutdown. Still, the estimate would be consistent with around a breakeven pace for the labor market.

Inflation will be trickier to measure. Price increases look to be hitting lower-income households and leading to a narrower base of economic growth. But the Fed’s mandate isn’t to fix inequality and such concerns ultimately shouldn’t divert the central bank from easing over the longer term.

The big picture is that we’re still in a rate-cutting cycle and it’s hard to see the AI wave collapsing in those conditions. Recent uncertainty is painful for those sitting on a loss in the most-exposed stocks, such as the 43% fall in cloud infrastructure company CoreWeave over the past month, but the real pillars of the AI trade such as Nvidia have barely been dented. The chip maker, which reports earnings next week, is up around 4% over the past month.

Sentiment shifts are coming rapidly but it’s not always best to go with the crowd.

—Adam Clark

*** Get more of the journalism you love. Choose Barron’s as a preferred source in Google.

***

Investors Shed Risk Amid Data Vacuum, Fed Rate Bets

Investors awaiting a deluge of delayed data now that the government is open may have to wait a little longer. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said that it would announce release dates for its closely followed labor and inflation reports as they become available, but that the process may take time.

What’s Next: Magnificent Seven tech stocks led the indexes lower on Thursday. Apple was an exception, dipping less than 1% versus bigger drops by most of its peers. Investors might be viewing shares of the iPhone maker as less risky because it spends less than other big tech firms on AI.

— Matt Peterson, Connor Smith, and Angela Palumbo

***

Appaloosa’s Tepper Kicks of Fund Stake Disclosures. More Today.

David Tepper’s Appaloosa Management made some contrarian investments in the third quarter, buying out-of-favor stocks Whirlpool, Goodyear Tire, and American Airlines, according to its quarterly stock holdings report to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Other fund manager reports are expected today.

What’s Next: The filing, called a 13F form, is required for money managers with more than $100 million in publicly traded securities, including hedge funds. Since the forms are filed with a 45 day delay, the fund positions could have shifted, and managers can request confidential treatment.

— Andrew Bary

***

Disney Stumbles Amid Focus on Streaming, Experiences

Walt Disney delivered an underwhelming September-quarter, with a tick down in revenue compared with last year. Despite consistent profits, worries remain about Disney’s transition from traditional television to streaming and about its multibillion-dollar expansion in theme parks and cruise ships.

What’s Next: Disney maintained its guidance of double-digit percentage growth in adjusted earnings-per-share in fiscal 2026 and 2027, but warned that entertainment operating income would likely take a $400 million hit this quarter because of a weaker slate of movies compared with last year.

— George Glover, Angela Palumbo, and Janet H. Cho

***

Starbucks Workers Strike Over Labor Deal Amid Turnaround Effort

Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol has been overseeing a turnaround effort at the coffee retailer, but spent Thursday contending with a labor issue involving more than 1,000 employees who went on strike in 45 cities nationwide. The union timed it to coincide with Starbucks’ Red Cup Day promotion that kicks off holiday sales.

What’s Next: Kate Bronfenbrenner, a lecturer at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, told MarketWatch that corporations have been emboldened by a “dysfunctional” National Labor Relations Board and an “anti-union administration.”

— Mackenzie Tatananni and Janet H. Cho

***

—Newsletter edited by Liz Moyer, Callum Keown