US stock futures traded cautiously on Friday as investors attempted to regain their footing after a rare global trading disruption and a challenging month for major indexes. The subdued sentiment came as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) slowly restored operations following a widespread shutdown that temporarily froze activity across futures and options markets worldwide.

Before the opening bell, futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up by 0.1%, while S&P 500 futures posted a mild 0.2% gain. Contracts tracking the tech-centric Nasdaq 100 saw a slightly stronger rebound, adding 0.3%. The modest uptick reflected a market still assessing the fallout from CME’s outage rather than signaling renewed buying enthusiasm.

The unexpected halt began overnight due to a cooling issue at a major data center provider, CyrusOne, which caused key CME platforms—including markets for US Treasury futures, crude oil, precious metals, and FX instruments—to go dark. While equity trading on individual stocks continued normally, the outage created confusion for institutional traders who rely heavily on CME products for price discovery and hedging.

CME confirmed that operations resumed around 8:30 a.m. ET, though some platforms, such as its major currency-trading system, reopened earlier in phases. The incident underscored how dependent the global financial system has become on centralized electronic infrastructure and how quickly risks can escalate when those systems fail.

Meanwhile, US markets are limping toward the end of a difficult November. Despite a sharp rally earlier in the week, driven partly by renewed optimism that the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates at its December meeting, the month has largely belonged to the bears. A sudden cooldown in megacap tech stocks—many of which had soared earlier this year on AI-related momentum—has dragged the Nasdaq down roughly 2% for the month. The Dow and S&P 500 are also slightly negative, threatening to break six- and seven-month winning streaks respectively.

The weakness in tech reflects a deeper concern among investors: whether AI-driven companies can justify heightened valuations with real revenue and profit growth. As traders recalibrate expectations, Wall Street’s biggest names have faced volatility reminiscent of earlier bursting-bubble cycles, although analysts remain divided on whether this is a temporary pullback or an early warning sign.

Looking ahead, strategists are releasing projections for the coming year—and some forecasts are surprisingly bold. Deutsche Bank expects the S&P 500 to push toward the 8,000 mark by the end of 2026, citing strong earnings, continued buybacks, and resilient investor inflows. Other institutions such as HSBC and JPMorgan offer slightly more conservative targets around 7,500, though they agree that rate cuts from the Federal Reserve could help propel markets higher.

With the Thanksgiving holiday shortening the week, trading volumes are lighter than usual. US markets will close early at 1 p.m. ET on Friday, and no major economic data releases are on schedule, leaving investors to monitor global sentiment and the lingering impact of Thursday night’s CME disruption.

As tech stocks wobble, gold prices edge higher, oil futures struggle with monthly losses, and Bitcoin hovers above $90,000, one theme dominates: uncertainty. And on Wall Street, uncertainty often becomes its own kind of volatility.

FAQ SECTION

1. What caused the CME outage?
A cooling system failure at the CyrusOne data center halted CME’s futures and options trading platforms for several hours.

2. Were US stock markets completely shut down?
No. Stocks continued trading normally, but derivatives markets—including futures on the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq—were affected.

3. Why are tech stocks struggling this month?
Investors are reassessing the speed at which AI-driven companies can translate innovation into sustainable earnings.

4. Are analysts optimistic about 2026?
Many are. Firms like Deutsche Bank forecast the S&P 500 reaching 8,000 by 2026, driven by strong earnings and potential Fed rate cuts.

5. Will the Federal Reserve cut interest rates in December?
Markets are increasingly pricing in a December rate cut, but the final decision depends on upcoming data and Fed committee consensus.