U.S. stocks finished off their best month in a year on Friday, with the Dow and S&P 500 clinching fresh record closing highs to cap off a blockbuster November. The Russell 2000 finished Friday just shy of what would have been its first record close since November 2021.

Failed to fetch dynamically imported module: https://finance.yahoo.com/assets/_app/immutable/nodes/90.BMDkfsfZ.js

The Cboe Skew Index, which measures options traders’ demand for tail-risk hedges, has risen sharply since Nov. 12, when it touched a post-election low. The index closed above 167 on Monday, its highest reading in more than two months, according to LSEG data.

Adobe Analytics estimates consumers will spend a record $10.8 billion in online sales this Black Friday, up 9.9% year over year. Cyber Monday online sales are expected to rise 6.1% to $13.2 billion. For the entire holiday season, Adobe anticipates U.S. online sales to reach $240.8 billion, an 8.4% increase over the year prior.

Stocks closed with solid gains as Wall Street put the finishing touches on one of its best months of the year.

The Dow rose 7.5% in November, easily its best month of 2024. The Walt Disney Co. has the biggest percentage gain for the month at 22.1%, but the price-weighted index also got help from Goldman Sachs, up 17.5% to $608.57, and Salesforce, up more than 13% to $329.99.

Black Friday unofficially kicks off the holiday shopping season, although retailers have been offering early deals for weeks.

U.S. stocks were on track to end November with their biggest monthly gains this year, with chip stocks rallying Friday.