Five stocks to watch in November and what to watch out for

The stock market started November on a high note after falling sharply and closing last month, while uncertainty over the US presidential election and the Federal Reserve’s next steps on interest rates hangs over the market.

Thursday’s sharp decline, driven by a selloff in technology stocks, sent the major indexes into negative territory for October. The S&P 500 and Dow snapped five-month winning streaks, while the Nasdaq Composite failed to post monthly gains for the first time since July.

The third-quarter earnings season will end in November, with big names like Nvidia (NVDA) and Home Depot (HD) emerging. But the November 5 presidential election will likely dominate news headlines and have the biggest impact on markets this month. Below we look at some stocks whose prices may change significantly.

Nvidia

Nvidia is scheduled to report third-quarter results on November 20, and investors’ attention will be focused on the world’s largest chip company in the lead-up to those results.

Analysts are overwhelmingly bullish on the long-term potential of Nvidia shares, with nearly 4 in 5 analysts rating them a Buy, according to Wall Street Journal data. Bank of America (BofA) analysts called Nvidia a “generational opportunity” in a recent note, citing its dominance in the artificial intelligence (AI) accelerator market, which they expect to quadruple in size to $280 billion by 2027 .

U.S. cloud providers are expected to spend more than $200 billion on infrastructure this year, with much of that spending going to data centers and the chips that train and run artificial intelligence models. Nvidia, with an estimated 80% market share for AI chips, is by far the biggest beneficiary of this spending.

Nvidia shares are up nearly 170% this year after rising more than 200% last year. But with the stock’s strong performance comes high expectations. Shares fell more than 6% a day after Nvidia easily beat second-quarter profit estimates in late August.

Trump Media and Technology Group

The daily movement of Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) shares has become a de facto indicator of former President Donald Trump’s chances of returning to the White House in January. No other stock is viewed more widely as an indicator of voter sentiment, and no other company’s fate depends more directly on the outcome of the November election.

The stock more than doubled in October as polls showed Trump closing the gap with Vice President Kamala Harris in national polls. Leading up to November 5th, DJT’s stock price will likely continue to mirror betting odds on popular platforms like PolyMarket, PredictIt and, as of Monday, even Robinhood (HOOD).

Given how close the election is, according to polls, DJT’s situation is likely to remain volatile, especially if legal challenges to the results are heard in courts across the country.

Home Depot

Home improvement retailer Home Depot is due to report quarterly earnings mid-month, and investors are hoping the results contain signs of an improving U.S. housing market.

Mortgage rates fell steadily through much of the third quarter, falling from about 7% on average in early July to just 5.9% in mid-September, when the Federal Reserve began cutting its benchmark interest rate.

Home starts hit a three-year high in September 2024 as lower rates and optimism eased the “lock-in effect” of higher interest rates, according to Realtor.com. There were more homes for sale at the end of September than at any other time since April 2020. That could bode well for Home Depot, whose business relies heavily on homeowners making improvements before listing it for sale.

However, rising 10-year Treasury yields have pushed mortgage rates higher in recent weeks. Wall Street has tempered its expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue its aggressive rate cuts this year and next. Uncertainty about the presidential election and the impact of each candidate’s policies on the economy also pushed yields higher. Rising yields could cloud Home Depot’s prospects, as it did for homebuilder DR Horton (DHI), whose shares fell when its earnings forecast missed estimates.

Home Depot shares are up about 15% this year.

Intel

No company in the Dow Jones Industrial Average has had a tougher year than Intel (INTC). The once-dominant American chipmaker has struggled to maintain its technological advantage over international rivals and is now in the midst of a major transformation.

Intel shares have lost more than 50% of their value this year as the chipmaker reported a huge loss – $16 billion in the third quarter alone – driven by sluggish demand for computer chips and heavy costs in its foundry business. The company’s limited exposure to artificial intelligence also weighed on sentiment.

CEO Pat Gelsinger has implemented a $10 billion cost-cutting plan that includes laying off about 15% of the company’s employees and suspending its dividend. Intel’s third-quarter results suggest efforts may be starting to pay off. The company beat estimates on quarterly revenue and sales forecasts.

However, with the company in dire straits, vultures are circling. Qualcomm (QCOM) was reportedly considering making an offer to buy at least some of Intel’s assets. Alternative asset manager Apollo Global Management has reportedly offered the company a $5 billion investment.

The presidential election will have implications for US trade policy and China-US relations, which are important for Intel as they affect its main rival, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM). Trump recently vowed to impose tough tariffs on Taiwanese-made semiconductors to support U.S. manufacturers such as Intel.

Boeing

2024 was almost as difficult for Boeing (BA) as it was for Intel.

Shares of the jet maker have fallen 40% this year due to the fallout from the door plug blowout in early January. The company has spent billions of dollars trying to retool its operations and revive its public image.

Boeing’s problems deepened in September when more than 30,000 union workers went on strike, a work stoppage that analysts estimated was costing Boeing $100 million a day. In late October, negotiators reached a tentative contract that included a 38% salary increase over the next 4 years, increased 401(k) matching, and a $12,000 ratification bonus. The proposal does not restore Boeing’s defined benefit pension plan, which is a key demand of workers.

Boeing recently raised more than $21 billion in a public offering aimed at helping the company survive a strike that has paralyzed production and, depending on the outcome of a Nov. 4 union vote, could extend into the third month of November.

Analysts called the end of the strike a “clarifying development” that could pave the way for Boeing’s recovery.