Overnight Developments
Nvidia’s blowout Q2 reignites the AI trade — CNBC
Nvidia reported after Wednesday’s close and beat on every line that mattered: $2.22 EPS on $96.2B revenue, up 106% year over year. The guidance did the real damage to the bear case — CFO Colette Kress pointed to fiscal 2028 revenue growth well above consensus, and management disclosed that AWS will buy 2 million Nvidia GPUs along with the new Vera CPU. That single datapoint undercuts the “hyperscalers are tapping out” thesis that has hung over the AI complex since spring. Nvidia also returned $26B via buybacks and dividends in the quarter.
Affected sectors: Semiconductors, AI infrastructure, Cloud, Software
The tape agrees, but only in one place
This is a narrow, tech-only move. NASDAQ futures are up nearly 1% while Dow futures are negative — the rotation is inside the market, not a broad risk-on lift. Asia mostly shrugged: the Nikkei and Hang Seng both closed lower despite having the Nvidia print in hand.
Futures & Pre-Market
As of 09:05 ET
| Index | Futures | Change |
|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 (ES) | 7,715.25 | +0.33% |
| NASDAQ (NQ) | 29,553.75 | +0.90% |
| DOW (YM) | 53,416.00 | -0.20% |
| Russell 2000 (RTY) | 3,006.20 | -0.13% |
Watchlist Movers
NVDA is the watchlist name in play, indicated sharply higher on the earnings beat — press reports put the pre-market gain anywhere from 4% to 7.3% depending on the timestamp. Treat the exact number as unsettled until the open.
The AWS GPU order makes AMZN a second-order read-through, and TSM, SMCI and INTC all sit in the blast radius of an AI-capex re-rating.
One caveat worth stating plainly: no live pre-market quote feed was available for individual names this morning, so the single-stock figures above come from press reports rather than the tape. Index futures are measured directly.
Off-watchlist earnings movers
- CRM +12% — Q2 beat
- CRWD +8% — earnings beat, raised outlook
- OKTA up double digits — beat
- HPQ -11% — beat on Q3 and guided full-year above the Street, and sold off anyway
International Markets
| Index | Change |
|---|---|
| Shanghai Composite | +1.13% |
| DAX | +0.31% |
| Nikkei 225 | -0.20% |
| Hang Seng | -0.34% |
| FTSE 100 | -0.42% |
Asia and Europe were mixed-to-lower. Only Shanghai showed real strength. The AI enthusiasm is, so far, a US phenomenon.
What to Watch at Open
Watch whether the Nvidia bid broadens or stays trapped in semis — NASDAQ futures up 0.9% against negative Dow futures is a rotation, not a rally, and that gap is the whole story today. The tell to watch is HPQ: a stock that beat earnings, raised guidance, and still fell 11% says the market is paying only for AI exposure and punishing everything else.
This alert is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.