U.S. stocks erased early Thursday gains as investors probed Nvidia’s (NVDA) earnings and revenue forecasts for insight into the prospects for AI-powered growth, while bitcoin (BTC-USD) hit another historical maximum.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell below the flat line, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 0.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) fell 0.4%, following a quiet day for leading indicators.
Nvidia beat its earnings in the third quarter, but the chipmaker forecast its slowest revenue growth in seven quarters as it noted supply chain problems. Those limitations will limit deliveries of the new flagship Blackwell chip, the company said, but will also cause demand to outstrip supply in 2026.
That suggests revenue growth is being delayed until the woes subside, some analysts suggested, given the dearth of sizable competitors in AI chip manufacturing.
Still, Nvidia shares opened up about 4%, but quickly erased those gains, as investors debated the future of the AI boom.
Elsewhere in the tech sector, shares of Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) fell after the Justice Department asked a judge to force its Google unit to sell its Chrome browser. But its antitrust team held off on Android, facing a choice between selling the mobile operating systems business or adopting hard solutions.
Weekly jobless claims released Thursday morning came in at 213,000, down from the previous week’s upwardly revised 219,000. Investors used labor market data to weigh the Federal Reserve’s appetite to cut interest rates. Traders now estimate a 44% chance that the Fed will hold firm at its December meeting, up from 28% a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
Investors are also watching for Donald Trump to end the long wait for his pick for Treasury Secretary, as they assess the likely impact of the president-elect’s Cabinet picks on the economy’s prospects.
Meanwhile, bitcoin briefly rose to a new all-time high just above $98,000. The largest cryptocurrency is approaching the key $100,000 milestone amid reports that Trump’s team is debating whether to name a White House crypto policy chief.
LIVE 6 updates
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Stocks rise as Nvidia rises 4% and bitcoin jumps to $98,000
US stocks rose on Thursday as investors digested gains from Nvidia (NVDA), while bitcoin (BTC-USD) briefly hit another record high just above $98,000.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.3%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) added 0.%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose 0.6%, following a quiet day for leading indicators.
Nvidia beat its earnings in the third quarter, but the chipmaker’s revenue growth forecast slowed. Shares of the AI chip heavyweight erased premarket losses and opened 4% higher.
Meanwhile, bitcoin soared more than 5% on Thursday, approaching the $100,000 threshold amid optimism that the incoming Trump administration will implement cryptocurrency-friendly policies.
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Jobless claims hit lowest level in seven months
Weekly jobless claims rose less than expected last week in a sign of cooling in the labor market.
New data from the Labor Department showed that 213,000 initial jobless claims were filed in the week ending Nov. 16, up from 219,000 the week before and below the 220,000 economists expected. Weekly jobless claims have been falling steadily over the past few weeks after reaching their highest level in more than a year in October.
Meanwhile, the number of continuing claims for unemployment benefits reached 1.908 million, 36,000 more than the previous week and the highest level since November 2021.
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Good day. This is what is happening today.
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Bitcoin up 5% as token nears $100,000
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) jumped more than 5% to an all-time high on Thursday morning, trading just above $98,000 amid speculation about pro-crypto policies of an incoming Trump administration.
The token has soared roughly 40% since the presidential election earlier this month, hitting multiple milestones as investors eye the $100,000 target.
Reports that President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has discussed the possibility of a first crypto policy chief for the White House have helped lift the token in the past 24 hours.
Bitcoin has been a key component of the “Trump trade,” as the incoming president has promised to explore pro-cryptocurrency initiatives, including the creation of a national bitcoin reserve.
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Target Stock Stabilizes After Wednesday’s Hit
Target’s (TGT) listing page on Yahoo Finance continues to generate strong interest following the stock’s 21.9% earnings decline on Wednesday.
Shares rose slightly in pre-market trading.
From top to bottom, Target’s results flat-out stunk. The reality is that the stock is likely to remain in the penalty box until Target can generate at least two quarters of healthy profits thanks to stronger sales.
I think Deutsche Bank analyst Krisztina Katai did a good job of summarizing the issues:
“The results indicate a significant deterioration in market share, primarily for Walmart (WMT) and Amazon (AMZN). This, added to the necessary investments in infrastructure and supply chain modernization to remain competitive, suggests a longer recovery schedule than initially projected. While we still believe Target’s long-term potential remains, regaining lost market share will likely require substantial investments in pricing and stepping up promotions, which will pressure margins and profitability.”
Below I list several of the challenges Target faces.
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Key point about Nvidia circulation
Nvidia (NVDA) is under a bit of pre-market pressure after last night’s earnings.
It makes sense since Jensen didn’t surprise everyone with his quarterly earnings guidance. But to be clear, the guidance was impressive, but not at the high end of some very strong Street estimates.
However, there is an important point circulating this morning outside of Nvidia.
If the sell-off accelerates during the session, it could be due to some near-term margin concerns as Nvidia ramps up production of its latest AI chip, Blackwell. Typically, during ramp periods costs are high and profit margins are not at maximum levels.
Notes from Keybanc analyst John Vinh:
“Nvidia noted that Blackwell supply is limited in the fiscal fourth quarter and, given the multi-platform ramp, expects gross margin to be temporarily in the 70s in the fiscal first quarter of 2026 before returning to the mid-70s in the second quarter.” half”.
