Nasdaq Index, Dow Jones, S&P 500 News: Tech Shifts and Fed Focus Shape Wall Street

Wall Street’s Focus on Nvidia and the Fed

U.S. stock futures experienced a downturn on Tuesday, with attention primarily divided between Nvidia’s recent AI conference and the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting. Nvidia, a prominent player in the chip industry, saw a premarket dip of about 2% despite revealing its powerful new AI chip, Blackwell. Meanwhile, Wall Street is closely monitoring the Federal Reserve’s meeting, especially in light of recent inflation concerns and the anticipation of steady interest rates.

At 12:22 GMT, Dow Futures are trading 39140.00, down 83.00 or -0.21%. S&P 500 Index futures are at 5190.25, down 24.50 or -0.47% and Nasdaq-100 Index futures are trading 18104.25, down 127.25 or -0.70%.

Nvidia’s AI Announcement

At its inaugural GTC Conference, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang introduced the Blackwell chip, a notable advancement over their current AI-powering chips. Despite the premarket decline, Nvidia’s stock remains robust with over 78% growth. This development marks a significant milestone in AI technology and Nvidia’s market position.

Federal Reserve Policy Meeting

The Federal Reserve’s ongoing meeting is a pivotal focus for investors, given the unsettling inflation reports and the expectations for interest rate policies. Current predictions from the CME FedWatch Tool suggest a 99% probability of unchanged interest rates in this week’s meeting, with no changes foreseen in the near future.

Company Highlights and Movements

Unilever announced a spin-off of its ice cream division, including brands like Ben & Jerry’s, alongside a major restructuring leading to 7,500 job cuts. This news boosted its U.S. shares by over 2% in premarket trading. Advanced Micro Devices and other tech stocks, such as Super Micro Computer and Dlocal, showed varied responses in the market, with some experiencing significant declines. In the crypto sector, firms like Coinbase and Riot Platforms witnessed a drop in shares following a decrease in bitcoin value.

Market Forecast

Given the current market climate, with specific focus on Nvidia’s technological advancements and the Fed’s cautious stance on interest rates, the short-term outlook appears mixed. While tech innovations and company restructurings offer some positive momentum, concerns over inflation and monetary policy may temper market optimism. As such, a cautious approach is advisable, with a slight bearish inclination in the short term.

Technical Analysis

E-mini Nasdaq-100 Index futures are edging lower on Tuesday, just slightly above the major support provided by the 50-day moving average at 17944.74. This indicator is controlling the intermediate trend. The direction of the market this week is likely to be determined by trader reaction to the moving averae.