Nvidia, Apple job losses, Bitcoin weakness

Investing.com — Wall Street is cautiously awaiting the release of its latest quarterly results from chipmaker Nvidia, with the results likely needed to keep market confidence high. Apple is reportedly laying off staff as bitcoin falls through a key resistance level.

1. Nvidia to determine market sentiment

Market darling Nvidia (NASDAQ: ) is set to report its latest quarterly results on Wednesday, and those numbers could be key in determining market sentiment going forward.

Nvidia’s market value has soared thanks to its dominance of the computing hardware behind artificial intelligence (AI), pushing its market cap to $3.2 trillion, briefly becoming the most valuable company of the world in June.

The chipmaker’s market value was about $390 billion on the eve of the launch of its AI chatbot, ChatGPT, less than two years ago.

Its sheer size and position as a major industry watchdog means its gains, due after the US close, can move the entire market.

Options pricing shows traders are anticipating a roughly 9.8 percent move in the company’s shares on Thursday, a day after it reports earnings, data from analyst firm ORATS showed.

Given Nvidia’s market cap, a 9.8 percent swing in the stock would translate to more than $300 billion, possibly the largest expected earnings move for any company in history, analysts said.

Nvidia is expected to have posted a roughly 112 percent year-over-year increase in second-quarter revenue to $28.68 billion, according to LSEG data. But its adjusted gross margin likely fell more than 3 percentage points to 75.8 percent from the first quarter, weighed down by the cost of ramping up production to meet rising demand.

It remains to be seen whether even a doubling of earnings, if it happens, will be enough to impress the market, given that investors have tended to take a less lenient view this season of big tech companies whose earnings have failed to justify rich or prodigious valuations. spending on AI.

2. Windfalls before key gains

U.S. futures were largely unchanged on Wednesday as investors cautiously awaited the release of the latest quarterly results from chipmaker Nvidia.

By 04:00 ET (08:00 GMT), the contract was 35 points, or 0.1 percent, higher, up 2 points, or 0.1 percent, while down 3 points, or 0.1%.

Results from AI darling Nvidia are due after the close (see above) and could determine whether investor enthusiasm for all things AI continues into the fall.

Aside from Nvidia, investors will also have a chance to study quarterly results from Bath & Body Works (NYSE: Foot Locker (NYSE: ) and Kohl’s (NYSE: ) before the open, while Salesforce (NYSE: ) releases earnings later in the session.

Elsewhere, shares of Nordstrom (NYSE: ) gained strongly in pre-market after the retailer beat expectations for second-quarter earnings, helped by its pivotal Anniversary Sale event.

Shares of semiconductor developer Ambarella (NASDAQ: ) jumped more than 18% after hours after beating third-quarter earnings estimates, while Calvin Klein owner PVH (NYSE: ) fell more than 7% after reporting a second quarter sales decline.

3. Apple lays off staff ahead of new iPhone launch – Bloomberg

A day after Apple (NASDAQ: company.

The biggest cuts were to teams working on Apple’s bookstore services, Bloomberg reported, and the move marks a rare example of job cuts by the company, which has tended to retain staff amid a growing wave of layoffs. big layoffs among its top tech peers.

The firm is set to unveil the latest version of its flagship iPhone in early September and will also begin rolling out a number of artificial intelligence features in its devices.

This event will initiate the “biggest upgrade cycle” in Apple’s history, “with AI now at the door,” Wedbush analysts said in a note.

“In our view, Apple could sell north of 240 million iPhone units in FY25 as this AI-driven upgrade cycle plays out,” the analysts continued. “China remains the pillar of growth for Apple, and now this key region will see improved growth again, starting with the iPhone 16 heading into fiscal 2025.”

4. Bitcoin feels unloved

the world’s largest cryptocurrency, fell on Wednesday, extending a sharp decline from the previous session, falling below the key $60,000 level.

By 04:00 ET, Bitcoin was down 6.7% at $58,806.0, down more than 3% on the week and down more than 11% this month.

Whale Alert, an X profile that tracks large crypto transactions using on-chain data, said about 30,000 Bitcoin tokens, worth $1.88 billion at current rates, were transferred from a cold wallet to the exchange on Tuesday. Binance Cryptocurrencies.

This transfer raised the possibility of a large selloff as it showed a large amount of Bitcoin being moved to an exchange.

A report by blockchain research firm Glassnode also revealed that net capital inflows into Bitcoin have “cooled considerably” in recent months, suggesting that investor optimism about the launch of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds has cooled.

There may also be a political element to the recent weakness, with the race for the White House now looking much tighter than it was a few months ago after President Joe Biden withdrew his candidacy.

Trump has positioned himself as a pro-crypto candidate in the upcoming US presidential election. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, has yet to share a public view of the industry, but the Biden administration has tended toward a heavy-handed regulatory vision.

5. US stocks offer little crude support

Crude oil prices fell slightly on Wednesday, struggling for support despite another huge draw in US inventories.

By 04:00 ET, WTI futures were down 0.2% at $75.38 a barrel, while the contract was down 0.2% at $78.47 a barrel.

Data from , an industry body, showed that US oil inventories fell by 3.4 million barrels in the week to August 23, more than expectations for a draw of 3 million barrels.

The data also showed sustained pullbacks in gasoline and distillate stocks.

If confirmed by , due later on Wednesday, U.S. stockpiles have fallen for eight of the past nine weeks, raising hopes that demand in the world’s biggest fuel consumer remains strong despite recent signs of a cooling economy.

But with September comes the end of the busy summer travel season, which could see some cooling in U.S. fuel demand.

Prices fell more than 2 percent on Tuesday, snapping a three-day streak of gains of more than 7 percent amid lingering concerns about a global economic slowdown.