CME Group Outage and Tech Stock Performance Analysis (Nov 28, 2025)

On November 28, 2025, two interconnected developments impacted U.S. financial markets:

1. CME Group Outage
   : A cooling system failure at a CyrusOne data center in Chicago caused a 9-hour outage on CME’s Globex platform. The outage halted trading in index futures (S&P 500, Dow Jones, Nasdaq), U.S. Treasury futures, crypto futures (Bitcoin/Ethereum), and commodity contracts (crude oil, palm oil). CME partially restored operations (forex first) by midday London time.
2. Tech Stock Premarket Rally
   : U.S. tech stocks showed mixed performance—Microsoft (MSFT) led gains (+1.78%), Apple (AAPL) had modest gains (+0.21%), while Alphabet (GOOGL) underperformed (-1.08%).

:

• Original Event: [WSJ][1]
• Outage Cause: [Yahoo Finance][2]
• Duration: [Yahoo Finance][3]

• Tech Sector
  : The tech sector rose 0.15% ([Internal Tool][0]), with MSFT’s gains driven by ongoing AI optimism. GOOGL’s decline lacked a clear catalyst (information gap).
• Futures Markets
  : The outage caused thin liquidity in U.S. Treasury cash markets and erratic gold price moves. European/UK bond markets remained unaffected.
• Sentiment
  : Traders expressed frustration (especially on option expiry day), but the technical nature of the outage (cooling system failure) limited systemic risk concerns ([Yahoo Finance][4]).

• Option Expiry
  : The outage disrupted S&P 500 option settlement (≈$600B notional). CME’s partial restoration may mitigate losses, but full recovery is critical for position rolling.
• Infrastructure Risk
  : The event highlights vulnerability of financial platforms to physical failures, potentially leading to increased regulatory scrutiny for CME and data center providers.

Stock	Price	Daily Change	Volume (vs Avg)	Market Cap
AAPL	$277.55	+0.21%	31.05M (51.74M avg)	$4.10T
MSFT	$485.50	+1.78%	25.66M (21.88M avg)	$3.61T
GOOGL	$319.95	-1.08%	50.87M (38.54M avg)	$3.86T

• CME stock closed at $280.87 (+1.40%), indicating investors view the outage as temporary.
• Volume:1.37M (1.93M avg)—lower than average, suggesting limited selling pressure.

: [Internal Tool][0]

1. GOOGL’s Drop
   : No company-specific news was found for its decline (needs further investigation into profit-taking or unreported events).
2. Option Expiry Impact
   : Full effect on S&P500 option settlement remains unclear (monitor CME statements).
3. Premarket Details
   : Exact premarket gains for tech stocks are unavailable (limited data).

• Infrastructure Risk
  : Users should be aware that physical failures at critical financial platforms can lead to liquidity disruptions and trading losses, especially on key days like option expiry.
• Tech Volatility
  : GOOGL’s underperformance highlights volatility in large-cap tech—diversify holdings to mitigate risk.

1. CME’s full restoration timeline for all platforms.
2. Regulatory response to the outage (e.g., SEC inquiries).
3. GOOGL’s stock performance to identify if the drop is a trend.
4. Impact on commodity and Treasury markets in the next week.

[0] Ginlix Analytical Database
[1] WSJ: Tech Stocks Rally Premarket; CME Outage Disrupts Futures
[2] Yahoo Finance: CME Group Halts Trading
[3] Yahoo Finance: CME Partially Restores Operations
[4] Yahoo Finance: Frustration Ripples Across Markets

---

: This analysis is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Always consult a licensed financial advisor before making decisions.
: All data is sourced from credible tools and news outlets per regulatory guidelines.
: Report reflects market conditions as of November 28, 2025.