- Nvidia had another strong quarter.
- Members of the Federal Reserve Board have grown increasingly concerned about the lack of progress in fighting inflation.
- Amazon is giving Alexa an AI upgrade.
Here are the most important news items investors need to start their trading day:
Stocks fell on Wednesday as investors worried about continued inflation following the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s most recent meeting (more on that below). The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 201.95 points, or 0.51%, for its worst session this month. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 fell 0.27% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.18%. But things looked up on Thursday morning as futures linked to all three indexes rose, with Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.8% as Wall Street rode the momentum of market leader Nvidia. Follow live market updates.
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Nvidia’s victories continue. The company’s stock price rose, topping $1,000 for the first time in after-hours trading, after the company reported first-quarter results that beat analysts’ expectations. The chipmaker reported a massive 262% increase in sales and announced a 10-for-1 stock split. It also shows no signs of slowing down, as its revenue more than tripled in the quarter and its data center business grew more than 400% year-over-year. Nvidia’s strong performance suggests that demand for its artificial intelligence chips, and the AI ​​rally in general, remains strong.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell announces the holding of interest rates during a press conference at the bank’s William McChesney Martinbuilding on May 1, 2024 in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images
Fed officials are increasingly concerned about progress, or lack thereof, on inflation. In the Fed’s meeting minutes from April 30 to May 1 released on Wednesday, members indicated they were not confident in cutting rates. Participants unanimously voted to maintain the benchmark short-term borrowing rate within a range of 5.25% to 5.5% from July 2023 onwards. Despite participants observing that inflation had eased over the past year, there was ultimately a “lack of further inflation” towards the committee’s 2% inflation target, the minutes said. He said he had seen “progress” in recent months. The minutes were released after Fed Director Christopher Waller said Tuesday he needed to see “months” of progress before voting to cut rates.
This photo taken on June 14, 2023 shows the group logo of the American company Amazon at the Vivatech technology startup and innovation fair held at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris.
Alain Jocard | AFP | Getty Images
Amazon is upgrading Alexa. The decade-old voice assistant will be enhanced with generative artificial intelligence as the company makes it more conversational, two sources familiar with the matter told CNBC. Amazon will also charge users a monthly subscription fee for the service, which won’t be included in the cost of Amazon Prime. Such upgrades, expected this year, could help the tech and retail giant better compete with companies like Google and OpenAI, which launched AI-powered chatbots and then unveiled similar AI-powered voice features.
Chevrolet Equinox EV will be exhibited at the New York International Auto Show on March 28, 2024.
Daniel DeVries | CNBC
General Motors has officially launched an all-electric version of the iconic Chevrolet Equinox, which has been part of the company’s lineup for two decades. The crossover EV is available in high-priced models starting at around $43,000 to $51,100. An entry-level Equinox LT model will be available later this year, priced starting at around $35,000. GM’s move comes amid slower-than-expected demand for EVs, making the rollout a test of whether the company’s new “Ultium” EV technology, and overall mass-market EV adoption, will actually take hold.
—CNBC’s Hakyung Kim, Samantha Subin, Kif Leswing, Jeff Cox, Kate Rooney and Michael Weiland contributed to this report.
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