Black Friday brought an unexpected twist to markets this year. U.S. stock futures grinding to a halt because of a data center glitch is not exactly the shopping deal anyone was looking for. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange stopped trading on Friday morning due to technical issues that rippled across futures markets, impacting everything from stock index futures to U.S. Treasuries and crude oil contracts. Meanwhile, the benchmark ETFs that everyone watches kept chugging along in premarket trading, apparently unfazed by the chaos.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index respectively, were both trading higher Friday morning despite the technical headaches elsewhere. SPY climbed 0.30% to $681.70, while QQQ advanced 0.42% to $616.85, according to market data.

This came after stocks logged their fourth consecutive winning session on Wednesday, ahead of Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday. Markets were set for an abbreviated Black Friday session, closing at 1:00 p.m. ET instead of the usual 4:00 p.m.

In political news that could reshape tax policy, President Donald Trump suggested using tariff revenues to provide relief for low and middle-income taxpayers. During a Thanksgiving video call with service members, he stated that "over the next couple of years," the U.S. will be "substantially" cutting or even "completely" eliminating the federal income tax. That's quite the turkey day promise.

Stocks Making Moves

Tilray Brands Takes a Hit

Tilray Brands Inc. (TLRY) tumbled 14.93% in premarket trading Friday after announcing a 1-for-10 reverse stock split. Reverse splits are rarely good news for shareholders in the short term, essentially consolidating shares to boost the per-share price artificially. The company maintains a weaker price trend across short, medium, and long-term timeframes, with poor growth rankings to match.

Direct Digital's Dilution Dilemma

Direct Digital Holdings Inc. (DRCT) dropped 12.06% after filing a Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday. The filing revealed that the company reached a settlement agreement with Continuation Capital Inc. last week. Under the settlement terms, Direct Digital will issue up to 50 million Class A common shares to Continuation Capital. That's a significant dilution event for existing shareholders, and the market responded accordingly. DRCT also shows weaker price trends across all timeframes.

SMX (Security Matters) Soars

SMX (Security Matters) PLC (SMX) surged 74.43% after presenting its molecular identity technology at the DMCC Precious Metals Conference in Dubai on Nov. 24-25. The technology presentation apparently resonated with investors, even though the stock maintains weaker price trends over short, medium, and long terms according to technical analysis. Sometimes a single catalyst can override longer-term trends, at least temporarily.

Black Friday Winners: Walmart and Apple

Walmart Inc. (WMT) rose 0.31% on Black Friday as the retail giant rolled out discounts and exclusive offers for the holiday shopping season. The retailer is focusing on an enhanced shopping experience both online and in physical stores, with early access perks for Walmart+ members. The stock maintains a stronger price trend across all timeframes with strong quality rankings, suggesting fundamental strength backing the seasonal momentum.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) gained 0.36% on Black Friday with its promotions running from Nov. 29 to Dec. 2. Apple's approach differs from traditional retailers—rather than offering direct discounts, the company is giving customers gift cards with purchases of eligible products. It's a clever strategy that maintains price integrity while still giving shoppers an incentive. AAPL shows stronger price trends across short, medium, and long terms, though it carries a poor value ranking, which makes sense given its premium valuation.

Wednesday's Market Recap

Before the holiday break, utilities, information technology, and materials stocks led market gains on Wednesday. Communication services and health care sectors bucked the broader trend, closing lower for the session.

U.S. stocks settled higher across the board, with the Dow Jones rallying more than 300 points ahead of Thanksgiving. Here's how the major indices performed:

The Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.82% to close at 23,214.69. The S&P 500 gained 0.69% to finish at 6,812.61. The Dow Jones climbed 0.67% to 47,427.12. The Russell 2000 matched the Nasdaq's performance, rising 0.82% to 2,486.12.

Analyst Perspective: Consumer Debt Fears Overblown?

Scott Wren, Senior Global Market Strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, is pushing back against alarming headlines about record U.S. consumer debt levels. Yes, total consumer debt has reached $18.6 trillion—an eye-popping number in absolute terms. But Wren argues investors need to "look under the hood" rather than panicking over big round numbers taken out of context.

His key point: the ratio of household debt to disposable income currently sits just below 90%, near a 25-year low and dramatically healthier than the 135% seen before the Great Financial Crisis. Context matters enormously when evaluating debt sustainability.

That said, Wren describes the current consumer landscape as "bifurcated." High-wage earners continue spending comfortably, while lower-income consumers are struggling because their wages haven't kept pace with inflation. This split is why his team maintains an unfavorable rating on the Consumer Discretionary sector—the spending picture varies wildly depending on income levels.

Despite these mixed signals, Wren's long-term outlook remains optimistic. He projects the economy will be "improving as we move through 2026," driven by major catalysts including "Artificial-intelligence (AI) related capital expenditures and deregulation," along with a spending boost from tax refunds next spring. So short-term caution, long-term confidence.

Economic Calendar

Investors had one economic data release to watch on Friday: November's Chicago Business Barometer (PMI) was scheduled for release at 9:45 a.m. ET.

Commodities, Currencies, and Global Markets

Crude oil futures were also halted due to the CME data center glitch, adding to the technical chaos in commodity markets.

Gold Spot rose 0.16% to hover around $4,164.76 per ounce. The precious metal's last record high stood at $4,381.6 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.17% higher at the 99.7040 level.

In cryptocurrency markets, Bitcoin (BTC) was trading 0.37% lower at $91,494.97 per coin, continuing its recent pullback from higher levels.

Asian markets closed mixed on Friday. India's NIFTY 50, China's CSI 300, and Japan's Nikkei 225 indices rose, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng, Australia's ASX 200, and South Korea's Kospi indices fell. European markets were also mixed in early trading, reflecting the uncertain tone heading into the weekend.

The abbreviated Black Friday trading session, combined with the CME technical issues, created an unusual environment for traders. But with major ETFs still climbing and retail giants posting solid gains on promotional activity, the holiday shopping season appears to be kicking off on reasonably solid footing—technical glitches notwithstanding.