To begin their trading day, investors should be aware of the following key news items:
1. Market Dips: Pre-market trading on Tuesday saw a slight slip in stock futures, with the S&P 500 futures down by 0.4%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lower by 0.2%, and the Nasdaq-100 futures declining nearly 0.6%. This comes after all three major indexes posted gains on Monday.
2. Nvidia Unveils Next-Gen AI Chips: Riding high on a strong stock rally, chipmaker Nvidia introduced its latest artificial intelligence chips and software platform named Blackwell. The flagship chip, GB200, set to launch later this year, boasts even greater power than the previous “Hopper” H100s series, which has been driving the AI boom and subsequent stock surge.
3. Banking Vulnerabilities: A troubling trend is unfolding in the banking sector, with over 280 banks exposed to significant risks due to their high exposure to commercial real estate and substantial unrealized losses from the Federal Reserve’s consecutive rate hikes, according to a report by Klaros Group.
4. Unionization Vote for Volkswagen Workers: Employees at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga plant in Tennessee have filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to conduct a unionization vote. This marks a significant development for the United Auto Workers in their efforts to organize workers across various automakers following successful contract negotiations with Ford, GM, and Stellantis last year.
5. Unilever Spins Off Ice Cream Division: Unilever has announced the spin-off of its ice cream unit, which includes the well-known brand Ben & Jerry’s. Despite generating significant revenue of 7.9 billion euros (approximately $8.6 billion) last year, accounting for around 13% of the company’s total revenues in 2023, Unilever believes that the ice cream division will perform better as an independent business entity.
Source (CNBC)
