As November draws to a close, this trading week will be shortened due to the Thanksgiving holiday, with investors continuing to digest Nvidia's (NVDA.US) earnings report while confronting weakening market confidence. In the coming week, a slew of key economic data will be released as the government processes backlogged information following the earlier shutdown—September retail sales and PPI figures, along with the November Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, are scheduled for Tuesday (ET). Initial jobless claims for the week ending November 22 and the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book will follow on Wednesday (ET). Meanwhile, corporate earnings reports remain relatively light this week, with Alibaba (BABA.US), Dell Technologies (DELL.US), Kohl’s (KSS.US), and Best Buy (BBY.US) in focus.

US stocks closed higher on Friday, capping off a volatile week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell over 2% last week, weighed down by rising concerns over an AI bubble, fading Fed rate-cut expectations, and a Bitcoin sell-off that fueled broader market panic. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average both declined roughly 1.5%. Despite strong Q3 earnings from Nvidia and Walmart, as well as better-than-expected September nonfarm payroll data, Thursday saw one of the decade’s sharpest intraday reversals—the S&P 500 initially surged over 1.5% before plunging more than 1.5% by the close, with even wilder swings in the Nasdaq.

For tech bulls, momentum has been lacking this month. Multiple stocks among the "Magnificent Seven," along with crypto- and AI-linked names like CoreWeave (CRWV.US) and Oracle (ORCL.US), have posted steep declines over the past month. Meta (META.US) and Oracle dropped over 15% and 25%, respectively, with both announcing expanded AI investment plans. Microsoft (MSFT.US) slid 9%, while Nvidia’s shares remained flat. Smaller chipmakers like AMD (AMD.US) and Intel (INTC.US) fell nearly 10%.

Nvidia’s Wednesday earnings provided AI optimists ample excitement, with CEO Jensen Huang directly dismissing "AI bubble" fears during the call, stating, "What we see is entirely different." Yet after early gains, Nvidia’s stock turned lower Thursday and dipped another 1% Friday.

"Once again, Nvidia confirmed its role as the market’s emotional anchor," said Jake Behan of Direxion. The muted reaction to positive earnings reflects year-end market fatigue.

"Thursday’s session simply lacked the momentum to sustain a rebound," noted Capital.com’s Kyle Rodda. "Even two key risk events—both with favorable outcomes—weren’t enough to dispel the prevailing pessimism."

Northlight Asset Management CIO Chris Zaccarelli highlighted that this month’s concerns center on tech giants’ massive infrastructure investments to meet AI demand, sparking fears of a bubble. "Yet these same companies continue generating enormous profits and reinvesting billions into data centers, servers, and chips—these expenditures are very real."

Institutional investors, including hedge funds and pensions, have doubled down on tech leaders. LPL Financial data shows institutions added $348 billion in Nvidia shares in Q3, with total institutional holdings of Nvidia and Microsoft each surpassing $2 trillion.

**Tech and Crypto: A Shared Fate** Despite a tough week, major US indices remain well above April lows seen after former President Trump announced sweeping tariffs. Bitcoin, however, has not held up—plunging last week to near $80,000, just a few percentage points above its April bottom. Year-to-date, Bitcoin is down nearly 10%. Companies like MicroStrategy (MSTR.US), which built businesses around Bitcoin acquisitions, fared worse, tumbling over 14% last week and 40% this year.

While some may dismiss Bitcoin’s slump as crypto-specific, Interactive Brokers’ Steve Sosnick argues these markets are now mainstream enough to represent speculative sentiment broadly, making this selloff impossible to isolate.

Macquarie’s Viktor Shvets likens the interplay between "AI and digital platforms (chips, data centers, blockchain, stablecoins, crypto)" to Japan’s "keiretsu" model—where cross-shareholdings bind companies into quasi-single entities.

"Such linkages foster collaboration but also vulnerability, especially in crises," Shvets wrote. "The ‘keiretsu’ effect magnifies fragility, as shocks cascade through complex chains." Should tech sentiment sour, cryptocurrencies—part of what Shvets dubs the "American keiretsu"—could be dragged down in tandem.