Stocks flat ahead of Nvidia earnings, US economic data

NEW YORK/LONDON :Global equity markets were little changed while the U.S. dollar rebounded on Wednesday ahead of the release of economic data and chipmaker Nvidia’s quarterly earnings results.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average nudged up 0.01 per cent to 41,246.40, the S&P 500 eased 0.23 per cent to 5,612.94 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.66 per cent at 17,637.45.
Europe’s benchmark STOXX index climbed 0.47 per cent to a one-month high, boosted by technology shares. Japanese stocks closed 0.22 per cent higher. MSCI’s gauge of all stocks across the globe was 0.05 per cent lower at 830.43, but still near the record close of 831.34 reached on Aug. 23.
Nvidia’s market value has ballooned, thanks to its dominance of the computing hardware behind artificial intelligence. The stock price is up some 3,000 per cent since 2019 and with a market capitalisation of $3.2 trillion, a move in its share price affects the broader market.
The chipmaker’s second-quarter revenue will likely double, though even that may disappoint expectations. Options pricing shows traders anticipate a near 10 per cent – or $300 billion – swing in market value, likely the largest earnings move of any company, ever.
“Everyone is thinking about Nvidia’s earnings later today,” said Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital in Los Angeles, adding that there was perhaps more apprehension about the numbers than about Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole speech on Friday.
“As Nvidia goes, that’s an indicator for the rest of the technology industry. And technology as an industry is an indicator for the rest of the market because many sectors are now technology dependent.”
Any disappointment in Nvidia’s results could hurt megacaps and other semiconductor stocks, which have led 2024’s rally on the prospect of AI integration boosting corporate profits.
“People don’t want to make a major move ahead of a large announcement, and Nvidia’s announcement is considered large,” Schulman added.
A preliminary estimate of second quarter U.S. gross domestic product is due later this week, along with the Fed’s preferred inflation measure – the core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index.
The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury notes fell 0.8 basis points to 3.825 per cent.
After a recent run of declines, the dollar was advancing. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, gained 0.37 per cent to 100.98, with the euro down 0.5 per cent at $1.1128.
Gold prices were hurt by the stronger U.S. dollar with spot gold down 0.75 per cent at $2,505.75 an ounce and U.S. gold futures 0.6 per cent lower at $2,537.60.
Oil prices fell on concerns about Chinese demand and risks of a broader slowdown. Brent crude futures traded 1.02 per cent lower at $78.74 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 1.14 per cent to $74.66.