Coming on the day right after Thanksgiving in the United States, Back Friday marks the start of the holiday shopping season. Sales data from this shopping frenzy day reflects investor confidence and consumer trends. The National Retail Federation (NRF) predicts that holiday season (Nov and Dec) retail sales in 2025 will likely exceed $1 trillion for the very first time, which represents a year-over-year increase of 3.7 to 4.2 percent. Historic data from the past decade show that the retail sector has generally outperformed the S&P 500 during the weeks before and after Black Friday. The following retailing companies are expected to be big winners:

The dollar experienced its weakest first half in more than 50 years, hurt by geopolitical tensions and former President Donald Trump's trade policies.

WTI prices are still about $12 below the previous Monday's high, as prices lack upward momentum due to easing Middle East peace tensions and OPEC+ members expecting another increase in production in August.

Ethereum (ETH) fell nearly 1% in early trading on Friday. As of this writing, Ethereum is trading around $2,440.

​After experiencing extreme volatility last week, Bitcoin has returned to the uptrend this week.