Yesterday’s report on the results of the main representative of the artificial intelligence industry (Nvidia) exceeded estimates. Shares in after-hours trading rose by over 9 percent, offsetting declines from this week. Investors also had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the “minutes” from the last FOMC meeting, which showed that officials are not in a hurry to lower interest rates. The EUR/USD exchange rate today morning is equalizing the highs set on Tuesday. Wall Street saw a rebound towards the end of the session. The Dow Jones and SP500 indices closed slightly higher (0.13 percent) while the Nasdaq Composite ultimately lost 0.32 percent.
In the minutes from the FOMC meeting on January 30-31, most officials noted the risk of easing monetary policy too quickly and emphasized the importance of careful assessment of incoming data to determine whether inflation is permanently falling to 2 percent. They also pointed to the risk of stalling progress towards price stability. There were also a few dissenting voices that supported earlier easing of monetary conditions. They pointed to the risk to the economy resulting from too long waiting for an interest rate cut. Fed representatives suggested that it would be appropriate to start discussions about slowing the pace of balance sheet reduction at the next meeting.
At the end of the day, EUR/USD was around 1.0820 and this morning increases are continued. Quotations are currently around Tuesday’s peak at 1.0835. The yields on 2-year US bonds gained in the afternoon hours and are currently around 4.65 percent.
The second event of the day, which somewhat dominated the market’s attention, were the quarterly results of Nvidia – a representative of the artificial intelligence industry. The results again exceeded Wall Street’s expectations. The company achieved sales of 22.1 billion USD in the three-month period ending last month, 265 percent higher than the same quarter a year earlier and well above the average analyst estimates of 20.4 billion USD. The company’s net income of 12.3 billion USD in the fourth quarter resulted in an astonishing year-on-year profit growth of 769 percent, and adjusted earnings per share of 5.16 USD beat estimates of 4.59 USD. This is the third quarter in a row of above-average results. The company also said it expects 24 billion dollars of revenue in the current quarter (forecasts indicated 22.2 billion USD). Above all, the 409 percent increase in sales (18.4 billion USD) in the Datacenter division, which deals with artificial intelligence, deserves attention. The company’s shares rose by over 9 percent in after-hours trading, offsetting the declines in quotations from recent days, mainly from Tuesday.
Łukasz Zembik, Oanda TMS Brokers
