People pose for pictures at the Wall Street Bull in New York’s Financial District on June 24, 2024 in New York City.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Spencer Platt | Getty Images<\/p>\n
The Nasdaq Composite<\/a> dropped 0.84% Monday stateside as technology stocks were under pressure, with Apple<\/a>, Meta<\/a> and Oracle<\/a> retreating more than 1% each.<\/p>\n Artificial intelligence lynchpin Nvidia<\/a> performed worse, losing almost 2%. CEO Jensen Huang in October said the chipmaker had “half a trillion dollars” of business on the books for 2025 and 2026. When Nvidia reports its third-quarter earnings Wednesday stateside, investors will be combing through Huang’s comments for signs of strong 2026 growth, as suggested by that data point.<\/p>\n The problem with promises or expectations, especially for a company that is one of the two around which the artificial intelligence universe orbits (OpenAI being the other), is that any disappointment will be disproportionately painful.<\/p>\n “If they offer any even slightly muted guidance or forecast for demand for their chips, the market would take that poorly,” Baird investment strategist Ross Mayfield said.<\/p>\n Despite the recent sell-off in tech over concerns about high valuations and capital expenditure, some analysts think we could still end the year with a rally.<\/p>\n \u00a0“We continue to see a balance of bullish and bearish signals heading into year-end, but our stance remains that a year-end rally is likely,” Michael Graham, analyst at Canaccord Genuity, wrote in a Monday note.<\/p>\n Likewise, HSBC’s<\/a> chief multi-asset strategist Max Kettner on Monday said the bank thinks “the probability of a melt-up into year-end \u2013 particularly in equities \u2013 is much greater” than a potential AI bubble popping.<\/p>\n If their predictions prove true, investors will have much to celebrate during the festive season \u2014 and we can worry about AI in the new year.<\/p>\n What you need to know today<\/p>\n Major U.S. indexes fall Monday stateside. Investors sold off technology names<\/a>, furthering their downward trajectory. Alphabet<\/a> shares, however, bucked the trend on news that Berkshire Hathaway<\/a> has taken a stake in it<\/a>. The pan-European Stoxx 600<\/a> lost 0.54%<\/a>.<\/p>\n ‘Half a trillion dollars’ of business for Nvidia. CEO Jensen Huang said in October that the chipmaker has $500 billion in orders for 2025 and 2026 combined. Analysts think Huang is signaling a strong forecast for 2026 sales<\/a>.<\/p>\n Divided outlook on a December rate cut. In prepared remarks on Monday, Fed Governor Christopher Waller said he is focused on the labor market<\/a> “after months of weakening.” But Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said there is a “need to proceed slowly.”<\/p>\n India announces energy deal with the U.S. Nearly 10% of New Delhi’s liquified petroleum gas will be imported from the U.S.<\/a>, said\u00a0Hardeep Singh Puri, Indian union minister of petroleum and natural gas, on Monday. It’s a move to shore up ties with the White House.<\/p>\n [PRO] Bitcoin’s downward trend could portend trouble. The price of the cryptocurrency, which has been under pressure<\/a>, is a “leading indicator” for U.S. stocks, an analyst told CNBC. But others think bitcoin still has tailwinds behind it even in the near term<\/a>.<\/p>\n