CME disruption, Black Friday, the K-beauty boom and more in Morning Squawk

In today's market overview, we highlight crucial developments that investors should be aware of as trading begins. This morning, trading in stock futures was temporarily suspended due to a cooling issue at a data center affecting multiple services at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Although futures trading was stalled, individual stocks continued to trade ahead of the bell. The CME has confirmed that futures indexes and options trading will resume at 8:30 a.m. Despite a holiday-shortened trading week, the stock market has shown signs of recovery. However, all three major indexes are expected to close November in the red, with the Dow and S&P 500 on track to end six months of gains. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite is poised for its first negative month in nearly eight months. Today's trading session is set to conclude early, wrapping up at 1 p.m. ET. Black Friday, traditionally recognized as the busiest shopping day of the year, is expected to draw millions of shoppers, albeit with a different atmosphere than in previous years. As consumer habits shift, it's crucial to keep an eye on changing trends. In the tech sector, Alphabet has bucked the trend of recent downturns, with its shares climbing over 13% this month. The company, known as a leader in artificial intelligence, has seen a significant boost following the announcement of its latest tensor processing units, dubbed Ironwood, and the launch of its new AI model, Gemini 3. With shares up nearly 70% this year, Alphabet stands out as the top performer among major technology firms, though experts caution that its lead in the competitive AI landscape may be precarious. The competition in AI technology is intensifying, with Alibaba recently launching AI-powered smart glasses, taking on rivals such as Meta, which introduced its smart glasses in collaboration with Ray-Ban. Additionally, a study by Counterpoint Research indicates that Apple is set to overtake Samsung in smartphone shipments this year for the first time in 14 years, largely due to strong sales of the iPhone 17. On the beauty front, there’s a notable surge in interest for South Korean cosmetics, commonly referred to as K-beauty. NielsenIQ reports that U.S. sales of these products are projected to rise over 37% this year, surpassing $2 billion. Major retailers, including Ulta, Sephora, Walmart, and Costco, are capitalizing on this trend, while Olive Young, known as the 'Sephora of Seoul,' is set to open its first store in Los Angeles next year. As we look ahead, these developments warrant attention and could shape market movements in the coming days.