markets

David Crowther11/21/25

Visualizing why yesterday’s stock market reversal was so weird and unnerving

Technically, America’s flagship stock market index is only ~5% away from all-time highs. But an excellent observation from Sherwood News’ markets editor lent a bit of perspective on why yesterday’s remarkable stock market reversal feels so much more unnerving than it might look on paper.

Mostly, it’s down to the fact that what most people expected to feel like a party that raged long into the night — Nvidia did everything right, blowing the lights out on earnings and answering its harshest critics — was shut down at 8 p.m. Then the house caught on fire.

Here’s every single day of the S&P 500 Index from the last decade to give some more context on how unusual yesterday’s intraday swing was.

Nvidia did everything right. It pulled it off. It passed the test. But, at about 10:45 a.m. ET yesterday, the market decided it didn’t care.

US stocks just suffered one of their most stunning reversals in 32 years

US stocks just suffered one of their most stunning reversals in 32 years

Mostly, it’s down to the fact that what most people expected to feel like a party that raged long into the night — Nvidia did everything right, blowing the lights out on earnings and answering its harshest critics — was shut down at 8 p.m. Then the house caught on fire.

Here’s every single day of the S&P 500 Index from the last decade to give some more context on how unusual yesterday’s intraday swing was.

Nvidia did everything right. It pulled it off. It passed the test. But, at about 10:45 a.m. ET yesterday, the market decided it didn’t care.

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China plans to permit purchases of Nvidia’s H200 chips “as soon as this quarter,” per Bloomberg

Nvidia’s $54 billion opportunity to sell H200 AI chips to the world’s second largest economy is reportedly close to getting the thumbs up from Chinese officials.

Bloomberg reports that China is “preparing to allow local companies to buy the component from Nvidia for select commercial use,” with this step coming “as soon as this quarter.”

Shares are up marginally in premarket trading.

The H200 is the top-performing processor from Nvidia’s Hopper generation, which preceded Blackwell. Earlier this week, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced that Vera Rubin, the successor to Blackwell, is now in full production. While these H200s are getting lapped by newer generations, they’re still roughly six times more powerful than H20 chips. Those are nerfed versions of Hopper chips that were previously the top AI offering Nvidia was allowed to sell into China, before US President Donald Trump announced that Nvidia would be permitted to make H200 sales back in December.

Reuters previously indicated that Nvidia has already received more than 2 million orders for H200 chips for 2026, plans to price these at about $27,000 apiece, and have initial shipments there before the Lunar New Year holiday (February 17).

Separately, the outlet reports that the chip designer is demanding full payment upfront from Chinese customers, along with no ability to modify or cancel orders, due to concerns about potential shifts in Beijing’s willingness to allow these shipments.

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Defense stocks dive, then surge, after Trump calls for record $1.5 trillion defense budget following payout threats

Major defense stocks saw a dramatic V-shaped turn in after-hours trading Wednesday after President Trump called for a record military budget, reversing losses just hours after nosediving on threats to curb industry buybacks and dividends.

The more bullish mood has carried into early trading this morning, with US stocks including Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and L3Harris Technologies up as much as ~7% as of 6:50 a.m. ET, while Huntington Ingalls Industries, General Dynamics, and RTX also made more modest gains. European defense players also hit multi-month highs, with Britain's biggest aerospace and defense company, BAE Systems, rising more than 6% as investors digested the spending idea.

The surge follows Trump's proposal for a record $1.5 trillion US military budget for 2027, shared on Truth Social late Wednesday, which he said would help build a "Dream Military" in "very troubled and dangerous times." The budget would represent a 66% jump from the $901 billion budget authorized for 2026.

Tasha Matsumoto

S&P 500 closes lower after notching new intraday high

The Nasdaq 100 eked out a small gain, while the Russell 2000 fell.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - NOVEMBER 17: Mascot Staley Da Bear of the Chicago Bears runs onto the field prior to an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field on November 17, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois.

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Matt Phillips19h

Blackstone and Invitation Homes get hammered as Trump calls for ban on Wall Street buying single-family homes

Shares of Blackstone and Invitation Homes dove early Wednesday afternoon after President Trump called on Congress to pass a law banning large institutional investors from buying single-family homes.

Blackstone and Invitation Homes are some of the largest owners of private homes in the country. Homebuilders including PulteGroup, DR Horton, and Lennar also stumbled on the news.

Nationwide, institutional investors own a small share — less than 1%, according to the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute — of US single family homes, which has led some to argue that they have had a relatively small impact on housing prices. But their concentration in particular markets, such as Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, and Charlotte, has prompted others, like center-left think tank Third Way, to argue that their purchases can have an effect on specific markets, neighborhoods, or certain types of houses.

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)

Blackstone and Invitation Homes are some of the largest owners of private homes in the country. Homebuilders including PulteGroup, DR Horton, and Lennar also stumbled on the news.

Nationwide, institutional investors own a small share — less than 1%, according to the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute — of US single family homes, which has led some to argue that they have had a relatively small impact on housing prices. But their concentration in particular markets, such as Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, and Charlotte, has prompted others, like center-left think tank Third Way, to argue that their purchases can have an effect on specific markets, neighborhoods, or certain types of houses.

markets

Matt Phillips19h

Intel surges amid CES announcements, Mobileye news

Intel surged to a new 52-week high in early trading, though it gave back a large chunk of the early gains by the afternoon. There were few headlines that could clearly explain the run-up of gains, which peaked around 11%.

One potential driver of the move might be optimism surrounding the company’s unveiling of a new line of processors at the Consumer Electronics Show on Tuesday.

Another possible candidate was the reflected glow of a deal announcement from Mobileye, the autonomous driving company that Intel holds a significant stake in.

Mobileye initially rose after buying Mentee — an artificial intelligence robotics company — for $900 million in cash and stock in a deal that’s expected to close this quarter.

(Intel spun off Mobileye in 2022, but retained a controlling stake in the company.)

Finally, news that Qualcomm is perhaps looking to use contractors outside Taiwan for its next-generation chip — though it’s reportedly speaking to Korea’s Samsung for that, not Intel — may be raising hopes that chipmakers looking to diversify away from Taiwan could become customers for Intel’s troubled contract chipmaking division.

But again, there’s no clear reason to point to for its outperformance on Wednesday.

Mobileye Acquires Startup Mentee Robotics for $900 Million

Mobileye Acquires Startup Mentee Robotics for $900 Million

Mobileye initially rose after buying Mentee — an artificial intelligence robotics company — for $900 million in cash and stock in a deal that’s expected to close this quarter.

(Intel spun off Mobileye in 2022, but retained a controlling stake in the company.)

Finally, news that Qualcomm is perhaps looking to use contractors outside Taiwan for its next-generation chip — though it’s reportedly speaking to Korea’s Samsung for that, not Intel — may be raising hopes that chipmakers looking to diversify away from Taiwan could become customers for Intel’s troubled contract chipmaking division.

But again, there’s no clear reason to point to for its outperformance on Wednesday.

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