Luke Kawa7/8/24

Semis power US stocks to fresh records

The S&P 500 posted a small gain of 0.1% to reach another record high, as did the Nasdaq 100 with a 0.2% advance.

While technology was the best performing S&P 500 sector ETF, breadth was still marginally positive on the day. Semiconductors were the standout within tech, with Intel up 6.2%, Advanced Micro Devices rallying 4%, Broadcom advancing 2.5%, and Nvidia higher by 1.9%. Software stocks, on the other hand, were about 1% lower.

Corning was the top performing S&P 500 constituent, up 12% its best day in more than 4 years, after the company boosted its second quarter guidance on robust demand for its products that support generative AI.

Target also had a strong session, up 2.1% after revealing a string of deals for the back-to-school season that it hopes will improve its value perception among customers.

No major bloc secured a majority in the French election held this weekend. Investors seemed to see less tail risk in French bonds following the vote, as the spread versus German bund narrowed, but there was no relief rally in European stocks. The Euro Stoxx 50 fell 0.2% and France’s CAC 40 fared worse, off 0.6%.

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What Wall Street’s saying about Nvidia’s Q1 results

A makeover beautifies the growth outlook; so does the CPU opportunity.

Jensen Huang in front of Vera Rubin at CES 2026

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SoftBank rallies on OpenAI and SB Energy IPO plans; its Japanese-traded stock notches best day since 2000

SoftBank shares skyrocketed in Tokyo trading, notching their biggest daily gain since 2000, boosted by news about planned IPOs at OpenAI, in which SoftBank has a sizable stake, and SoftBank’s own SB Energy unit. ADRs of SoftBank traded in the US rallied, too.

OpenAI is accelerating the timeline to its public debut, preparing to confidentially file its IPO prospectus with regulators as early as Friday, according to The Wall Street Journal. That could set the stage for a highly anticipated public listing as early as September.

SoftBank has systematically expanded its financial exposure to OpenAI, securing a highly valuable stake in the company. As of the fiscal year-end, SoftBank’s cumulative investment in OpenAI totaled $34.6 billion, with a fair value of $79.6 billion, and cumulative investment gains totaled $45 billion, according to a SoftBank filing.

For SoftBank, a successful public debut is critical to demonstrating that OpenAI can protect its market position amid intense industry pressure. Investors have grown increasingly anxious that OpenAI is losing ground to competitors like Anthropic, which is currently in talks for a funding round that could push its own valuation past that of OpenAI.

Adding to the upward momentum, SB Energy, the digital infrastructure and clean energy development firm co-owned by SoftBank and Ares Management, confirmed its own confidential draft registration filing for a major US public listing.

This multipronged IPO pipeline has boosted investors’ confidence in billionaire founder Masayoshi Son’s high-conviction AI thesis, showcasing a road map for SoftBank to transition its paper gains into potential liquidity. SoftBank’s stock is up 37% so far this year.

Maybe we should all agree to not talk about Nvidia’s stock after earnings

It’s probably making people dumber.

Nvidia conference with Jensen Huang

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Max Knoblauch6h

Nio posts better-than-expected first-quarter earnings and forecasts strong Q2 sales

Chinese EV maker Nio posted Q1 results before markets opened on Thursday, reporting earnings that beat expectations and strong sales guidance for the second quarter. Shares of the company climbed more than 4% in premarket trading.

For the first quarter, Nio reported:

Adjusted earnings of $0.00 per share, compared to the $0.05 loss per share that Wall Street analysts polled by FactSet had expected.
$3.7 billion in revenue, compared to the $3.74 billion consensus estimate.
83,465 vehicle deliveries, slightly exceeding its own forecast of between 80,000 and 83,000.

For Q2, Nio guided for deliveries of between 110,000 and 115,000, compared to estimates of 113,807. The company expects second-quarter revenues to come in between $4.75 billion and $4.99 billion, while analysts are forecasting $4.6 billion.

The Chinese auto industry has seen a surge in exports so far this year, as companies make efforts to combat declining domestic sales. Nio, which is still relatively new to overseas operations, has plans to ship “several thousand” EVs overseas this year.

J. Edward Moreno

Walmart gives disappointing Q2 guidance, warns about stress among low-income consumers

The retailer reported earnings before the bell on Thursday.

Walmart Store

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