The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied Thursday to a new high for the year, as more cooling inflation data and strong Salesforce earnings capped the benchmark's best month since October 2022.

The 30-stock Dow gained 520 points, or 1.47%, to close at 35,950.89, surpassing its previous high for the year in August. The S&P 500 added 0.4% to 4,567.80. However, the Nasdaq Composite was about 0.2% lower at 14,226.22 as investors took some profits in Big Tech stocks that have led the November comeback.

The Dow closed out November with an 8.9% gain, breaking its three-month losing streak. The S&P 500 rose 8.9% in November, while the Nasdaq advanced 10.7%. Both averages had their best monthly performance since July 2022, and were trading about 1% away from their respective 2023 highs.

"A lot of what we've seen in November is just a realization that the economy is still doing well, that consumers are resilient and the Fed is on hold, more than anything else," said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Independent Advisor Alliance. "Assuming those conditions stay between now and the end of the year — which is our our most likely scenario — we think the market will continue to drift higher."

"For 2022, we spent so much time thinking about what could go wrong, and we really didn't spend any time thinking about what could go right. 2023 is a story of a lot of things going right, " Zaccarelli added.

Leading the Dow higher on Thursday was cloud software company Salesforce, which popped 9.4% on the back of better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the fiscal third quarter. Salesforce's cloud data business, which saw its revenue increase by 22% from the previous year, and its artificial intelligence product Einstein GPT were behind the positive report. Health-care companies UnitedHealth Group, Johnson & Johnson, Merck and Amgen also led the index higher.

Data released early Thursday showed that the personal consumption expenditures price index — the Federal Reserve's favorite inflation gauge — rose 3.5% on a year-over-year basis, a slowing from a 3.7% annual gain in prior month.

These numbers were the latest in a string of positive inflation data seen in November that caused traders to conclude the Federal Reserve is likely done raising rates and could even begin lowering them in 2024.

"What's driving the market, ultimately, is that shift in monetary policy," said Sonu Varghese, global macro strategist at Carson Group. "Lower volatility could also push more money into markets as people regrow their portfolios and increase exposure to equities. We think new highs are definitely possible."

The 10-year Treasury yield, which had spooked investors by rising above 5% last month, collapsed this month as the cooling inflation data rolled out, helping to boost sentiment for equities. The 10-year yield ticked a higher to 4.34% Thursday.

Technology shares were far and away the big winners in November, but investors took some of those bets off the table as the month came to a close. Nvidia shed 2.9% on Thursday, but still ended the month up 14.7%. Tesla shares were off by 1.7% Thursday following a 19.5% comeback in November. Alphabet and Meta lost 1.8% and 1.5% during the day, respectively.

Stocks end Thursday mixed

Here's how the major stock indexes ended the day:

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average popped 520.47 points, or 1.47%, to 35,950.89.
• The S&P 500 gained 0.38% to 4,567.80.
• The Nasdaq Composite edged lower by 0.23% to 14,226.22.

— Pia Singh

BTIG technical analyst notes November breakouts in smallcaps, REITs and regional banks

Smallcap stocks, real estate investment trusts and regional banks have scored breakout months in November, according to BTIG technical analyst Jonathan Krinsky.

The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF has soared 14.2% in November, the Vanguard Real Estate ETF has jumped 11.2% and iShares Russell 2000 ETF that tracks smallcap stocks is up 9.2%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Information Technology Index is up 12% in November and the S&P 500 by 8%.

"REITs continue to impress and are also now firmly above their 200 DMA," Krinsky wrote to clients Thursday. "Regional Banks might now be one of the best charts in the market, having consolidated for two weeks along the 200 DMA, with a breakout [Wednesdau] and upside confirmation today."

— Scott Schnipper, Michael Bloom

Market pricing points to five rate cuts following inflation data

As markets got another signal Thursday that inflation is ebbing, they solidified bets that the Fed is done hiking rates and will be cutting substantially in 2024.

Futures pricing suggested only a minimal chance of rate increases at the Federal Open Market Committee's December and January meetings, according to CME Group data. Moreover, futures pointed to a better-than-even chance that the central bank will cut benchmark rates five times next year, the equivalent of 1.25 percentage points.

The moves followed Thursday morning economic readings showing that core PCE inflation fell to 3.5% and continuing jobless claims rose to a two-year high.

—Jeff Cox

Long-term bond ETF outperforms in November

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust may be having one of its best months ever, but long-term bonds are seeing even greater gains.

The iShares 20+Year Treasury Bond ETF jumped 10.8% as of Wednesday's close, Bespoke pointed out. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust gained 8.19%.

Bond yields move inversely to prices.

— Michelle Fox

Top 3 Nasdaq gainers this month are all technology stocks

The Nasdaq 100 has gained nearly 11% so far in this month. The gains in the index have been boosted by three stocks that have each rallied over 30% in November, and hit new 52-week highs on Thursday.

PDD Holdings, the largest gainer in the Nasdaq, has soared 43% so far this month. The Chinese e-commerce giant owns retailers such as Temu, which has dominated overseas markets since its launch in September 2022. Following its third-quarter earnings and revenue beat, Morgan Stanley named the stock a top pick and hiked its price target to $170.

Software firm Datadog has also gained more than 43% this month after the company reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter earnings and full-year guidance. TD Cowen named the company one of its best ideas for 2024.

Shares of cybersecurity technology firm CrowdStrike have similarly added 33% on the back of better-than-expected third-quarter earnings. The company also raised its fourth-quarter earnings and revenue forecasts.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Biotech ETF on pace for best month since November 2020, helped by ImmunoGen deal

The AbbVie-ImmunoGen deal is helping to fuel a rally in the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI). It is up 14.5% month-to-date, and earlier reached more than 17.5% month to date, which had put it on pace for its best month since November 2020, when the XBI gained 18.12%.

ImmunoGen shares have nearly doubled since AbbVie announced plans to buy the cancer drugmaker for $10.1 billion in cash. ImmunoGen is a leader the field of antibody-drug conjugates and makes the ovarian cancer treatment Elahere.

Crispr Therapeutics and Kymera Therapeutics are also having a good month, with shares up about 73.5% and 78.7%, respectively.

It's a big turnaround for the sector. Even with November's gains, the XBI is down more than 8% so far this year.

—Christina Cheddar Berk, Gina Francolla

Costco notches 5.1% November sales increase

Retail sales at Costco Wholesale jumped 5.1% to $20.14 billion in November from $19.17 billion in November of last year, the company said on Wednesday.

The company also noted same store sales over the same time period climbed 3.5%, while e-commerce sales were 9.8% higher from November 2022.

Shares were down 0.3% on Thursday.

— Brian Evans

These are the top three gainers in the S&P 500 for November

Shares of Insulet, Expedia and Generac Holdings have led the S&P 500 in November, helping lift the benchmark index more than 8% this month. The S&P 500 is on track to post its best monthly performance since July of 2022.

Medical device company Insulet occupies the top spot for the month with a nearly 43% gain, while Expedia sits in second with a 42% climb. Insulet stock has benefited from a third-quarter earnings beat on the top and bottom line earlier in November, driven by strong demand visible in new customer starts throughout the quarter.

Expedia also posted an earnings in the third-quarter in November, and saw its stock jump on news that ValueAct Capital Management took a stake in the trip booking company.

Shares of energy technology company Generac, meanwhile, have added roughly 38% in November. The stock received a boost from news that the U.S. Department of Energy picked Generac as one of a collection of vendors to participate in a $440 million residential and solar battery project in Puerto Rico.

-- Brian Evans

Atlanta Fed tracker puts GDP growth at 1.8% in Q4

Early fourth-quarter data is pointing to a sharp slowdown, though not a contraction, for the U.S. economy, according to the Atlanta Fed's GDPNow tracker.

The indicator puts gross domestic product on pace to grow 1.8% at an annualized rate, following an update Thursday from the previous outlook for 2.1%. In Q3, GDP rose 5.2%, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

However, the gauge has processed data mostly from October, the first month of the quarter. GDPNow of late has been a good predictor of where the economy is headed but gets more accurate as additional data comes in. The Thursday update reflected estimates for private investment, consumer spending and other variables reported this week.

—Jeff Cox

Tesla shares slip ahead of Cybertruck launch

Tesla shares shed more than 1.5% on Thursday as the electric vehicle company prepared to kickstart deliveries of its Cybertruck.

Ahead of the launch, some Wall Street analysts remain cautious on shares, expecting the long-awaited vehicle to do little to stimulate growth at the company grappling with demand issues.

Bernstein's Toni Sacconaghi told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on Thursday that the Cybertruck isn't a "make or break car" for the company, noting that CEO Elon Musk has even openly discussed some of the manufacturing difficulties involved with this "niche product."

"It's going to be very tough over the next year," he said. "We think gross margins will likely be around zero or maybe less, which means on an all-in basis, on an operating basis, the company will be losing money on every cyber truck they sell."

The event comes a day after Musk's interview with CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin at the DealBook Summit in New York, where the Tesla CEO used expletive language to clap back at advertisers who left the social media site X due to concerns of heightened antisemitism.

"If somebody's going to try to blackmail me with advertising? Blackmail me with money? Go f---yourself," he said. "Go. F---. Yourself. Is that clear?" Musk also called out Disney CEO Bob Iger in the audience, saying "Hi Bob!"

Tesla shares have nearly doubled year to date, gaining more than 21% in November's market rally.

— Samantha Subin

U.S. crude falls amid skepticism about OPEC cuts

U.S. crude fell nearly 2%, erasing its gains from earlier in the day as traders worry that OPEC and its allies, OPEC+, will not deliver on promised output cuts.

The West Texas Intermediate contract for January fell $2.17, or 2.79%, to $75.75 a barrel, while Brent was was down 26 cent, or .31%, at $82.84 a barrel.

OPEC+ delegates told Reuters that the group has agreed to output cuts approaching 2 million barrels per day next year for early next year.

But traders are worried that the cuts are voluntary and not mandatory, raising the question of whether OPEC+ can really follow through, according to Phil Flynn, an analyst with the Price Futures Group, said

"The proof is going to be in the pudding," Flynn said. "Instead of having a clear answer to what is going to happen we only have promise -- the promise making people nervous," Flynn said.

-- Spencer Kimball

Oil market awaits outcome of pivotal OPEC meeting on production cuts

OPEC and its allies, OPEC+, are holding a pivotal meeting on output targets for next year with oil prices rising on expectations that the group will at least rollover its existing cuts.

Oil has risen several days in a row now, with U.S. crude and the global benchmark Brent gaining 4% this week as of Wednesday's close.

The West Texas Intermediate contract for January rose $1.36, or 1.75%, in intraday trading Thursday to $79.22 a barrel, while Brent gained $1.15, or 1.38%, to trade at $84.21 a barrel.

OPEC was originally scheduled to meet on Sunday, but delayed that meeting due to disagreements on production quotas with Angola and Nigeria, raising concerns the group might not strike a deal.

"At this point this dispute is unlikely to derail a deal. That is because Saudi Arabia has reminded the small producers that it is better to give than receive," wrote Phil Flynn with the Price Futures Group in a note. "They are dependent on Saudi Arabia's charity, and they want them to pay their fair share."

There had been speculation that OPEC could implement deeper production cuts in 2024 to support prices amid record non OPEC production and worries that demand is falling in the U.S. but above all in China.

OPEC and its allies are already holding 5.16 million bpd off the global market, but oil sold off sharply from September highs earlier this month on demand concerns.

Two OPEC delegates told Reuters on Thursday the group is likely to reach an agreement to slash at least 1 million bpd for early next year, led by the Saudis rolling over their voluntary cuts with smaller curbs by other members.

Citibank expects OPEC+ to maintain the status quo with the Saudis rolling over their 1 million bpd voluntary cut, with other members broadly committing to their existing quotas.

Tamas Varga with PVM Oil Associates said deeper cuts would send oil prices north in the immediate future, but the long-term impact will be muted given the impact of stubbornly high interest rates on demand and weak economic data out of China.

— Spencer Kimball

10-year Treasury yield falls to 4.34% after topping 5% last month

The 10-year Treasury yield has retreated significantly this month on rising hopes that the Federal Reserve may not need to raise interest rates further.

The benchmark rate has fallen 56 basis points in November to trade at 4.324% after the key bond yield topped the 5% threshold in October. On Wednesday, the rate dipped below 4.25% for the first time since September. 

The 30-year Treasury yield has dropped 58 basis points this month to 4.48%. Yields decline when bond prices rise, and one basis point equals 0.01%.

— Yun Li

Dow boosted by stocks rallying more than 20% in November

The Dow is tracking for its best month this year, lifted by a handful of stocks surging more than 20%.

The 30-stock index is on pace to end November's trading month, which concludes with Thursday's close, 7.2% higher. That would mark its biggest monthly gain since October of 2022, when the blue-chip average finished 14% higher.

Salesforce and Intel has led the index higher with rallies above 22% each. A chunk of Salesforce's the gains came on Thursday as investors cheered the software company's earnings report. Intel has climbed over the course of the month, building on a late October earnings report that beat expectations and offered strong current quarter guidance.

Boeing is poised to close November more than 21% higher, making it the next biggest gainer. The stock is on track for its best month since late 2022, helped by news last week of regulatory clearance on flight tests for the 737 Max 10's certification.

— Alex Harring

Pending home sales drop to a record low

Pending home sales, which are a measure of signed contracts on existing homes, dropped 1.5% in October from September. That's the lowest level since the National Association of Realtors began tracking this metric in 2001, making the reading worse than those during the financial crisis over a decade ago. 

The index serves as the most recent indicator of housing demand, reflecting those who were out to buy homes last month. Mortgage rates in October rose sharply, with the average on the 30-year fixed loan briefly soaring over 8%.

— Pia Singh, Diana Olick

Stocks are set to snap a three-month losing streak

Stocks are set to end a three-month losing streak on Thursday, as hopes the Federal Reserve is finished hiking and could start cutting next year bolstered investor sentiment in November.

Shortly into this month's final trading session, here are where the major averages stand:

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up by 7.92%, on pace for its best monthly performance since October 2022 when it gained 13.95%.
• The S&P 500 is up by 8.42%, on pace for its best monthly performance since July 2022 when it gained 9.11%.
• The Nasdaq Composite is up by 10.46%, on pace for its best monthly performance since July 2022 when it gained 12.35%.

— Sarah Min, Chris Hayes

Stocks open slightly higher

Here's how the major indexes opened on Thursday:

• The S&P 500 gained about 0.1%.
• The Dow Jones Industrials Average added 180 points, or nearly 0.5%.
• The Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.1%.

— Pia Singh

Fed's John Williams sees interest rates high 'for quite some time'

New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said Thursday he expects the central bank will have to hold interest rates at a "restrictive" level to get inflation back to target.

"I expect it will be appropriate to maintain a restrictive stance for quite some time to fully restore balance and to bring inflation back to our 2 percent longer-run goal on a sustained basis," Williams said in prepared remarks.

However, he also said he thinks the Fed is "at, or near, the peak level" of where it needs to set the fed funds rate, the central bank's benchmark for short-term lending. Williams added that he expects inflation to recede to about 2.25% in 2024 before it gets back to target the following year.

—Jeff Cox

Stocks making the biggest moves premarket

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:

• Salesforce — Salesforce popped more than 9% after the cloud software company reported fiscal third-quarter earnings that beat analysts' expectations. The company posted adjusted earnings of $2.11 per share on $8.72 billion in revenue. Salesforce also shared stronger-than-expected guidance for its fiscal fourth quarter.
• Nutanix — Nutanix shares climbed 8.8% after the computer software company reported fiscal first-quarter earnings that topped estimates. Nutanix posted adjusted earnings of 29 cents per share, more than the 17 cents per share expected by analysts polled by LSEG. Its revenue of $511 million also topped the $501 million consensus estimate.
• Snowflake — The cloud stock gained 7.7% after Snowflake's third-quarter earnings surpassed analysts' expectations. Snowflake posted adjusted earnings of 25 cents per share on revenue of $734 million. That was better than the earnings of 16 cents per share on revenue of $713 million expected by analysts polled by LSEG. It issued fourth-quarter product revenues guidance that also came in above expectations.

Read the full list here.

— Sarah Min

Oil rises as market awaits pivotal OPEC decision

Oil price rose Thursday morning amid reports that OPEC and its allies will likely agree to a preliminary production cut of 1 million barrels per day for early next year.

The West Texas Intermediate Contract for January rose 52 cents, or .67%, to $78.38 a barrel, while the Brent crude contract for January gained 88 cents, or 1.06%, to trade at $83.98 a barrel.

OPEC and its allies, OPEC+, are holding a crucial meeting today on output targets for 2024.

Two OPEC delegates told Reuters that Saudi Arabia will rollover its voluntary cuts while other members will implement smaller curbs for a total of 1 million bpd.

— Spencer Kimball

Euro zone inflation rises less than expected

Annualized inflation in the euro zone expanded by 2.4% in November, less than a Reuters estimate of 2.7%. It's also well below an October reading of 2.9%. Core inflation also increased less than expected.

"For the third month in a row, Euro Area inflation surprised markets and forecasters strongly on the downside today," Deutsche Bank senior economist Marc De Muizon said in an email. "The November inflation flash prints confirmed price pressures are coming down quickly across all components of the inflation basket. This print confirms that Euro Area domestic inflation is slowing much faster than anticipated by ECB forecasts a few months ago."

The data lifted global sentiment, as it showed inflationary pressures may be easing. European stocks rose broadly, while U.S. stock futures climbed.

— Fred Imbert

Sentiment starting to get 'a bit frothy,' BTIG says

BTIG chief market technician Jonathan Krinsky noted late Wednesday that "things are starting to get a bit frothy."

Specifically, the ISEE call/put ratio for stocks closed at its highest level since June and second highest of 2023, he said. Krinsky also pointed out the Cboe Equity Put/Call intraday ratio closed at its lowest level since July.

"Part of this we welcome as we continue to expect some of the laggards to play catch-up, but we are also seeing the 'MEME' stocks run again," he said.

— Fred Imbert

European markets opened higher on the last day of November

European markets opened higher on the last day of the month, but sectors were mixed.

Oil and Gas stocks were last up by close to 1%, while chemicals dipped by around 0.4%.

The Stoxx 600 index was up by around 0.14% at 8:15 a.m. London time and hovered just below a 6% increase for the month of November.

— Sophie Kiderlin

10 of 11 sectors on track to end month in positive territory

10 out of the 11 sectors are on pace so far to end this month in the green.

The technology sector led the gains, up 12.82% in November. Energy, down 2.27%, was the sole laggard.

Wednesday's trading session saw 6 out of the 11 sectors end in the positive. Real estate, up 0.73%, led the gains. On the other hand, the communication services shed 1.12%.

Similarly, 6 out of 11 sectors are positive for the week, led again to the upside by real estate, which is so far up 1.63%. Communication services stocks were again the laggards, slipping 1.27%.

— Christopher Hayes, Lisa Kailai Han

Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Salesforce, Pure Storage and more

These are the stocks moving the most in extended hours trading:

• Salesforce — The software giant added 8% after releasing third-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.11 per share, higher than the $2.06 per share analysts polled by LSEG were expecting. The firm's third-quarter revenue of $8.72 billion fell in line with expectations.
• Pure Storage — The data storage company lost 14%. Pure Storage anticipates fourth-quarter revenue will come in at $728 million, below the $918.7 million analysts had expected, according to FactSet. Pure Storage also guided for a full-year revenue of $2.82 billion, again below the expected $2.96 billion.
• Five Below — The discount retailer was flat after coming in above analyst expectations for its third-quarter earnings.

Read the full list of stocks moving here.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Stock futures open higher

Stock futures opened higher on Wednesday, as all three major indexes were on pace to notch new highs for the year.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 99 points, or 0.28%. S&P 500 futures rose 0.07% while Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.10%.

— Lisa Kailai Han