Overview

• Nvidia reports fiscal second-quarter results after the closing bell, with options markets implying roughly a $260 billion move in market value.
• At about 8% of the S&P 500 and valued above $4 trillion, the AI chip leader is viewed as the key bellwether for demand across semiconductors and a wider set of AI-linked stocks.
• Investors will scrutinize management’s outlook on China sales after recent U.S. policy shifts, including export curbs and a revenue-sharing arrangement cited in reports, following Nvidia’s earlier warning of a potential $8 billion quarterly hit.
• U.S. futures and global equities traded mixed-to-flat through Wednesday as traders positioned cautiously for the print and the spillover it could have on indexes and sector peers.
• The backdrop includes revived rate-cut hopes after Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole remarks and uncertainty from President Trump’s effort to remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook, which faces a legal challenge and has raised questions about central-bank independence.