After a slow start on Tuesday, all the major indices began to rally by noon and finished well in the green by the close. The initial downturn was sparked by news that Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) was in talks with Meta Platforms Inc. ( NASDAQ: META) to sell them its custom AI chips. Google's own specialized chips, called Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), are optimized for AI and machine learning workloads and are typically used in its own data centers. NVIDIA Inc. ( NASDAQ: NVDA) was down almost 3% by the close on the news, which started the early selling, and while the rest of the indices recovered, the chip giant finished the day in the red.
One scenario is that growth continues more or less as it has for the last 20 years. If so, the current federal fiscal trajectory is unsustainable,
Wall Street is holding steady Thursday as the countdown ticks to an update on the U.S. job market coming Friday that could clear the way for the cuts to interest rates that investors love. The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged in morning trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 52 points, or 0.1%, as of 10:10 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was flat.
The US dollar steadied on Thursday, as traders weighed signals of a softer labour market and awaited further releases. Job openings fell to a low in July, undershooting expectations, while factory orders dropped for a second consecutive month. These indicators reinforced the view that the economy is cooling, even as attention now shifts to today's ISM Services index, expected at 51, and to Friday's payrolls.
In a move without precedent in modern US history, Trump said on Tuesday evening that Cook was "effective immediately" removed from her position on the Fed's seven-strong governing board over allegations of mortgage fraud. Cook has denied wrongdoing and said she would not resign, setting the stage for a legal battle over whether the president has the authority to fire a Fed governor. The dispute comes as Trump intensifies pressure on the central bank to deliver steep interest rate cuts to support the economy and the jobs market.
Gold prices fell as the US dollar strengthened and Treasury yields rose, retreating within a recent consolidation range. A partial resolution of political uncertainty also influenced prices.
Musk's experience illustrates the challenges entrepreneurs face in politics, where the allure of balanced budgets fails against Washington's short-term incentives.