US stocks finish ahead in shortened session on Black Friday; Nasdaq closes at record high

1.30pm: US stocks end higher on Black Friday US stocks closed higher on the truncated Black Friday session, amid muted trade due to the Thanksgiving weekend, while the technology-laden Nasdaq reached a record high. The Nasdaq finished up 111 points, or 0.9% to reach 12,205 boosted by Black Friday sales and the potential uptick of Cyber Monday next week. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed  over 37 points higher, at 29,910, while the S&P 500 added 0.3% to 3,638. It comes as traders are less uneasy about the political situation in  the US as President Trump appears to have signaled that he would leave the White House. The Associated Press has declared Joe Biden the winner of the presidential election, with 306 electoral college votes to 232. Markets are also cheering potential good news over a vaccine to bring an end to the coronavirus pandemic and the economic damage caused. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are up 11.3% and 11.9%, respectively, this month. David Madden, market analyst at London-based CMC markets, noted: "US retailers are relatively muted today even though it is “Black Friday” a day of aggressive discounts. "The event seems to have lost some of its appeal in recent years because of online shopping and companies have started offering their discounts over a period of time rather than just one day." 10.15am: Proactive North America headlines The Valens Company Inc (CVE:VLNS) (OTCQX:VLNCF) (FRA:7LV) says goodbye to board member Renee Merrifield after her election to BC legislative assembly BevCanna Enterprises Inc (CSE:BEV) (OTCMKTS:BVNNF) (FRA:7BC)  provides recap of this week's management call, including planned Naturo takeover FansUnite Entertainment Inc (CSE:FANS) (OTCQB:FUNFF) (FRA:4UY) CEO pleased with Canada’s proposed single-event sports betting legislation Bragg Gaming Group Inc (CVE:BRAG) (OTMKTS:BRGGF) (FRA:SL4A) says it is “very supportive” of Canada’s move to legalize single-event sports betting EuroLife Brands Inc (CSE:EURO) (OTCPINK:EURPF) strikes deal to acquire popular cereal brand Holy Crap of Dragon's Den fame 9.40am: Wall Street starts higher The main Wall Street indices were higher on Friday morning as the shortened post-Thanksgiving session got underway. Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.21% to 29,936, while the S&P 500 was up 0.3% at 3,640 and the Nasdaq climbed 0.64% to 12,171. With the session due to end at 1pm Eeastern Time, OANDA’s Craig Erlam is predicting few fireworks in New York. “While traders in the US will rejoin today, probably in much smaller numbers as many make the most of the extended weekend, I don't expect things to pick up in any meaningful way. The economic calendar is still extremely thin and the way these markets are positioned, I think many are already in weekend mode”, Erlam said. 7.35am: Wall Street expected to rise at start of shortened Black Friday session On what will be a half-day of trading after yesterday’s Thanksgiving Day holiday, indices on Wall Street are set to open higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is tipped to advance 55 points to 29,927 at the start of trading while the S&P 500 is expected to harden 7 points to 3,636. The NASDAQ Composite is on course for a 104 point gain to 12,198. There is little in the way of macroeconomic news to keep US traders occupied before they slope off to give the credit card a caning with some online shopping on Pavlov’s Day – otherwise known as Black Friday. “The excitement around this day in the US is extraordinary as is the competition for bargains – you can see the result on the “Black Friday Death Count” website, which tracks how many people are killed on this day (doesn’t seem to have been updated last year though, but maybe no one was killed last year),” commented Marshall Gittler at BDSwiss. Three things to watch for on Friday: Oil prices may be an area of interest at the end of the week ahead of next week’s meeting of the OPEC+ nations, where the cartel will decide whether to proceed with planned production increases in January or hold back as the pandemic continues to dent demand for crude Meanwhile, gold could see itself depressed following a brief reprieve yesterday as vaccine optimism drives investors away from the yellow metal While the earnings calendar is pretty threadbare, investors will likely be eyeing the performance of retailer stocks as Black Friday kicks off, with strong online retailers such as Amazon Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) likely to draw market attention