12:23 PM EST, 11/21/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes rose after midday Friday as the odds of a December interest-rate cut almost doubled after New York Fed President John Williams put a dovish lens over the last monetary policy meeting of this year.

The Nasdaq Composite climbed 1% to 22,289.4, with the S&P 500 up 1.1% to 6,612.7 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average 1.5% higher at 46,440.5. All sectors gained, led by materials, health care, and consumer discretionary.

Williams said Friday he sees room for "further adjustment" to rates in the near term. His comments helped in interpreting how the Federal Reserve would view the September nonfarm payrolls. That report showed number of jobs added rose by more than twice the amount expected, while the unemployment rate increased more than forecast, exacerbating the divide between policy hawks and doves.

The dovish comments from Williams, reportedly a close ally of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, could be in line with that of the central bank chief and, therefore, influential in shaping consensus in the Federal Open Market Committee next month. Unlike most regional presidents who rotate, the New York Fed president is a permanent voter on the FOMC.

The probability of a 25-basis-point cut in interest rates in December catapulted to about 70% by Friday afternoon, up from 39% the previous day, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. The remaining likelihood for the target rate for fed funds is to remain unchanged in the 3.75% to 4% range.

Oracle (ORCL) shares dropped 6.7%, the worst performer on the S&P 500, amid mounting concern over risk-related AI capital expenditure. The company's 5-year credit default swaps, which reflect the cost of protecting its debt, have surged past 110 basis points, the highest in three years, according to a report from FXStreet.

Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that a group of about 20 banks is providing $18 billion in financing to help fund the construction of a data center tied to Oracle in New Mexico. Oracle's total debt-to-equity ratio was almost 533% as of May, according to data compiled by FactSet.