Pre-markets Move Back into the Green, SIG Beats by +293%

Tuesday, December 2, 2025

Pre-market futures are bouncing back mildly — not strongly enough to be considered a “surge,” but still back in the right direction. After losing more than -400 points yesterday, the Dow is up +103 at this hour; the S&P 500 closed Monday -36 points and its now +22; the Nasdaq has actually reversed yesterday’s losses at this hour: -89 points yesterday, +112 today.

We don’t have a lot on the docket today, at least not compared to tomorrow and Friday mornings, which will bring us ADP ADP private-sector payrolls for November and the shutdown-delayed Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) for September, respectively. Today, we’ll get Auto Sales results from car manufacturers as the day moves along.

Yesterday, we saw November manufacturing prints move in different directions: the S&P Manufacturing PMI climbed to 52.5 versus the 51.9 estimated and reported the prior month, while ISM Manufacturing, also for November, slipped half a point to 48.2% from 48.7% the previous month. This is the lowest read in four months, and obviously below the growth threshold of 50%.

Monday also gave us Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s reassertion that the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) — whose next meeting begins a week from today and gives us an updated monetary policy December 10th — should proceed cautiously in determining whether to cut interest rates. This is because the present economy is rife with uncertainties, now including whether or not we’ll see a 25 basis-point (bps) cut next week.

Powell didn’t take the cut off the table, but market participants sold off partly on this news yesterday. If we know anything about Powell’s approach these past 7+ years as Fed Chair, it’s that he does intend to be as transparent as possible. Thus, we may wish to hold onto the idea that the 25 bps cut — which had already been baked into market valuations — will still be forthcoming, even if it puts future cuts in doubt. This tracks with investors modestly pushing indexes into the green today.
 

Signet Jewelers Beats Earnings by +293%

The world’s largest diamond retailer, Signet Jewelers SIG, reported Q3 results ahead of today’s open. Earnings of $0.63 per share was nearly 4x estimates, for an earnings surprise of +293.75% from expectations of $0.16. Revenues of $1.39 billion in the quarter outpaced forecasts by +1.67%. Shares are down -4% on the news, however, as guidance remained range-bound from previous levels, even with such a big earnings beat. 

Signet shares have so far gained +18% year to date, partly to do with the consumers continuing to pull their weight in the 2025 economy. Comps grew +3%, with the Average Retail Unit +7%. The conservative guide does bring into question whether Q3 realities will continue into the holiday shopping season. For more on SIG’s earnings, click here.
 

What to Expect from the Stock Market Today

Fed Governor Miki Bowman speaks this morning, like Jerome Powell yesterday, despite what is usually a “blackout period” ahead of the next FOMC meeting. We heard from Governor Bowman yesterday in her support for more regulations on stablecoin — a less-than-fully-dovish position, perhaps; Bowman had been among the more outspoken Fed members advocating for lower rates. Will she do so today, or will she tack closer to Powell’s views?

After today’s close, we’ll see one of the final tranches of calendar Q3 earnings results. These include Zacks Rank #2 (Buy)-rated apparel retailer American Eagle Outfitters AEO and fabless chipmaker Marvell Technologies MRVL, along with cybersecurity major CrowdStrike CRWD and identity solutions provider Okta (OKTA), which carry Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) ratings into today’s earnings releases.

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