Nvidia Hits $3 Trillion After AI Deals in Saudi

Nvidia Hits $3 Trillion After AI Deals in Saudi

Nvidia surged on Tuesday, reaching a $3 trillion valuation after announcing major AI agreements in the Middle East during President Trump’s Saudi Arabia visit. The rally in US chip stocks is expected to lift European tech names like ASML. The dollar continued to weaken in Asia as investors looked ahead to Thursday’s US retail sales data and upcoming geopolitical talks between Ukraine and Russia.

Equities

The FTSE 100 was flat on Tuesday, with gains in energy and mining stocks offset by declines in health and consumer sectors. Shell rose 1.2%, tracking a broader move higher in oil prices as crude climbed more than $1 per barrel. Mining companies also gained, supported by a rise in copper prices. The FTSE 250 gained 0.6%, helped by positive sentiment following soft US inflation data that raised the chances of Fed rate cuts.

Sales and marketing group DCC fell 6.5%, making it the worst performer in the FTSE 100 after reporting adjusted operating profit for 2025 below analysts’ expectations. GSK dropped nearly 3% after announcing it would stop developing a lung cancer therapy in partnership with US-based iTeos Therapeutics.

In the US, the S&P 500 rose 0.72% to 5,886.55, turning positive for the year for the first time since February. The Nasdaq climbed 1.61% to 19,010.09, lifted by strong gains in technology shares. 
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.64% to 42,140.43, dragged down by a sharp 17.8% fall in UnitedHealth shares. The health insurer suspended its annual forecast and announced that its CEO would step down, leading to a broad sell-off in healthcare stocks, which fell nearly 3% across the S&P 500.

Coinbase surged nearly 24% after news that it will join the S&P 500 on 19 May. The crypto exchange has benefited from rising cryptocurrency prices and increased trading activity this year. Investors welcomed its inclusion in the index as a sign of growing institutional interest in digital assets.

This followed a 90-day tariff truce between the US and China, which will see reciprocal import duties temporarily reduced, prompting several analysts to lower their recession forecasts.

Forex & Commodities

The US dollar steadied on Wednesday after a 0.8% fall on Tuesday, its sharpest drop in over three weeks. Softer-than-expected US inflation data supported expectations that the Federal Reserve could begin cutting interest rates later this year.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six major currencies is now about 3% below levels seen in early April, when President Trump announced new tariffs.

The dollar slipped 0.41% to 146.89 yen, adding to Tuesday’s 0.66% drop. Against the offshore Chinese yuan, the dollar rose 0.24% to 7.2122 after touching a six-month low on Tuesday. Sterling was little changed at $1.3307, and the euro also moved marginally, trading at $1.1191. 

Gold prices declined, with spot gold down 0.7% to $3,226.11 an ounce. Recent developments in US-China trade talks have reduced safe-haven demand. Market participants are watching for the US Producer Price Index, due Thursday, which may give further insight into the Fed’s next move. Traders are currently pricing in two quarter-point rate cuts this year, starting in September.

Oil prices fell modestly, with Brent crude down 0.6% to $66.24 a barrel and WTI crude also down 0.6% to $63.31. The pullback followed a 2.5% gain in the previous session. Traders were cautious ahead of official data expected to show a significant rise in US crude inventories. Despite recent optimism around US-China trade de-escalation, demand concerns continue to limit upward momentum in oil.

Economic Calendar

●    Germany and Spain release final CPI figures for April
●    Burberry Group reports full-year earnings; ABN Amro Bank posts Q1 results
●    Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey speaks in Amsterdam
●    Federal Reserve Bank of New York releases Q1 household debt and credit report
●    Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson delivers remarks on the economic outlook at a virtual conference