Weekly Market Recap: November 29, 2025
S&P +3.7%, Nasdaq +4.8%—best week since June. Why December cut is locked and how to secure guaranteed income before rates drop again.
11/29/20252 min read
Santa Rally Starts Early, But Volatility Is Not Gone For Good
Welcome to LegacyHaven Advisors’ weekly market update, where we help pre-retirees and retirees secure lifelong income, protect their wealth, and thrive in any economy. In a holiday-shortened week, markets delivered the strongest weekly gains since June with the S&P 500 +3.7%, Dow +3.2%, Nasdaq +4.8%. Yet volatility remains the name of the game in this late-stage AI bubble. Let’s break down the moves, the macro tailwinds, and why guaranteed income is more critical than ever if you’re 5–10 years from retirement.
Best Week Since June
S&P 500 → +3.7% (now +0.1% MTD after a flat November)
Nasdaq → +4.8% (still –1.5% MTD, snapping a 7-month win streak)
Dow → +3.2%
Russell 2000 → +0.8% MTD (small caps quietly outperforming in November)
Friday’s half-day session saw the S&P close at 6,849, Dow at 47,365, and Nasdaq at 23,366, all higher as December cut odds hit 100%.
Tech & AI: Same Bubble, New Narratives
Broadcom (AVGO) → +18% on monster AI chip demand
Nvidia (NVDA) → dipped to a 3-month low on “Big Tech seeking alternatives” headlines… then analysts immediately reiterated “Strong Buy”
Apple (AAPL) → multiple all-time highs on iPhone 17 pre-order strength
Classic bubble behavior. Narratives flip daily, prices swing hard. Volatility creates massive growth opportunities, until you need to turn investments into paychecks.
All Green Lights for December Cut
Initial jobless claims → 220K (better than expected)
U. Michigan sentiment → ticked up to 51.0 (still low, but direction matters)
Long-term inflation expectations → eased to 3.4%
QT officially ends December 1 → Ongoing liquidity injection
Result? Markets now price a near 100% chance of a December 17 rate cut and multiple cuts in 2026.
Key Takeaway: Same bullish tailwinds we’ve highlighted for months, lower rates, ending QT, increasing GDP are still in place. This week was the market remembering that.
Why This Matters If You’re 5–10 Years From Retirement
Volatility is fantastic for growth, but not for income withdrawals. A 4.8% Nasdaq week feels great… until a 7% drawdown forces you to sell at the wrong time like many did this past month. Sequence-of-returns risk doesn’t care about your average return, it punishes the order in which distributions are taken against those returns. That’s why the smartest pre-retirees we work with are doing two things right now:
Locking in fixed interest payments with a 5-10 year duration (They understand the interest rate environment is changing)
Building a guaranteed income stream that covers essentials, no matter what NVDA or the Nasdaq does next week
Brand-new tool: Run real-time quotes instantly with our Live Annuity Rate Calculator to see what's possible
What’s Next?
CPI (Dec 11) → expected to cool again
FOMC (Dec 17) → almost certain cut
Santa Rally → historically strong Dec–Jan period after Thanksgiving surges
The ride up still has legs as we mentioned last week, but the bunker needs to be finished before the next real correction.
Within 10 years of retirement?
→ Use our Live Annuity Calculator now
→ Run the Sequence of Returns simulator to see what a 15% drop does to a 60/40 portfolio
→ Or book a 15-minute call with our team