Market Recap - Week of November 10 through November 14, 2025
- Gordon Achtermann, CFP®, CSRIC®, MBA
- Nov 17
- 3 min read
The S&P 500 index edged up 0.1% this week as gains led by health care and energy stocks slightly outweighed declines in sectors including consumer discretionary and utilities. The market benchmark ended Friday's session at 6,734.11 and is still in the red for November with a month-to-date drop of 1.6%. The index is up 14% for the year.
This week featured the end of a 43-day government shutdown, the longest federal closure in US history. While the government has reopened, investors are still awaiting the resumption of a number of key economic reports including employment data for September, which is scheduled to be released on Nov. 20.
As earnings season winds down, questions loom over what the delayed economic reports may show and how they may impact the Federal Reserve's policy-setting meeting in December.
The health care sector had the largest percentage increase this week, climbing 3.9%, followed by a 2.5% rise in energy and a 0.9% increase in materials. The consumer staples and technology sectors also eked out weekly gains.
On the downside, consumer discretionary fell 2.7%, followed by a 1.2% drop in utilities and declines of 0.9% each in real estate and industrials. Communication services and financials also edged lower.
Companies set to release quarterly results next week include Home Depot (HD), Medtronic (MDT), NVIDIA (NVDA), TJX (TJX), Palo Alto Networks (PANW), Lowe's (LOW), Target (TGT), Walmart (WMT), Intuit (INTU) and BJ's Wholesale Club (BJ).
Beyond the Nov. 20 release of September employment data, the schedule of economic reports remains unclear as the government works to resume releasing data following its 43-day shutdown.
Last Week’s Economic Reports
Economic reports have been delayed due to the US government shutdown. The September jobs report remains unavailable, and updates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics have been suspended until the government resumes operations.
S&P 500 Sector and Stylebox Returns
How to read the stylebox: The horizontal axis represents investment style, which can be value, blend, or growth for stocks and mutual funds. The vertical axis represents market capitalization for stocks, categorized into large, medium, and small companies. The number in each box represents the percentage growth of the category that is the intersection of the column and the row. For example, large-cap value is in the top-left corner of the box, so the large-cap value category is up by 12.4% YTD (year-to-date).
Thought of the Week
The longest U.S. government shutdown on record, lasting just over six weeks, ended late last Wednesday. As the dust settles and federal spending resumes, investors are starting to tally the damage.
Our base case was for a soft 4Q25 followed by a stronger 1Q26. That still holds, but the swings could likely be more dramatic. 4Q25 GDP, initially expected to grow around 1%, is now tracking a mild contraction. Frozen federal outlays, hundreds of thousands of unpaid or furloughed workers and disruptions to the SNAP food assistance program likely weighed on 4Q activity.
Crucially, much of this government-driven demand is delayed, not destroyed. With the government reopening, spending resumes, staff receive back pay and suspended programs restart, albeit gradually. This shift into early2026, paired with a now lower 4Q base, suggests the 1Q26 growth print could come in stronger than previously expected.
Even so, some output will not return. The CBO estimates a cumulative $15 billion shortfall in real GDP through 1Q26 relative to a no-shutdown path, reflecting lost output from hours not worked and foregone private demand, such as canceled travel plans, that will not be recouped.
Markets largely looked through the shutdown, much as they have in past episodes. But just as the deal removed one overhang, new risks emerged, with uncertainty around the Fed’s December cut contributing to the late-week sell-off. Valuations still remain stretched, and more risks sit on the horizon. The current funding deal runs only through January 30, and looming IEEPA tariff rulings could introduce fresh volatility. Against this backdrop, investors may want to consider further diversifying their portfolios and adding downside protection should economic turbulence begin to catch up with markets.
Source: JP Morgan (edited)
Up Next
Economic data will likely remain light if the US government shutdown persists. The shutdown has delayed closely watched government data releases, including the September jobs report.
Thank you to all who attended this month's market Update webinar!
You can watch the replay here:
$300 Trillion Accident & Unending Govt Shutdown – Monthly Market Update Webinar – November 2025.
The episode is also available wherever you listen to podcasts!
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Gordon Achtermann, CFP®
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