CNBC Daily Open: Chipping away at semiconductor revenues
The seismic shifts from the AI wave can be felt everywhere — from fueling the rise of new billionaires at a record pace to drastically changing the cybersecurity and defense landscape and how governments are looking to gain from the boom.
No wonder semiconductors powering AI have become an important piece on the trade chess board. In fact, the U.S. government is trying to profit from allowing chip companies access to the large Chinese market. On Wednesday, reportedly Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang met with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House and agreed to give the federal government a 15% cut of its sales in China. Another chipmaker, AMD, agreed to the same deal.
Nvidia, meanwhile, has been fending off allegations from Chinese state media that its H20 AI chips pose a national security risk for China as it looks to resume sales to the country.
While investors appear to be cheering on AI stocks — Nvidia gained over 1% Friday — they are also bracing for a data-heavy week ahead. The consumer price index, out Tuesday, will be particularly in focus as it could offer clarity on the Federal Reserve's rate path. Nvidia refutes security risk allegations. The chip giant pushed back Sunday after an account affiliated with the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said its chips were not safe and had a "remote shutdown" function.
U.S. stocks post a winning week. On Friday, the Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.98% to a fresh record high. The S&P 500 also gained to close just a few points shy from a new record. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index gained 0.19%.
Nvidia and AMD agree to pay 15% of China chip sales to the U.S. The chipmakers will receive export licenses in exchange, in an unprecedented arrangement with the White House, according to the Financial Times.
Loud luxury makes a comeback. High-end brands are pivoting to visible opulence in a bid to woo shoppers as they grapple with multiple headwinds, including trade tariffs and soft consumer sentiment.
[PRO] Data-heavy week for Wall Street. The latest consumer price index is set to release Tuesday, and the producer price index is due out Thursday. Investors also await other economic data such as retail sales, as they assess whether the Federal Reserve will cut rates in September.
From lipsticks and Labubu dolls to concerts, the 'treatonomics' trend is booming in uncertain times
"Treatonomics" — a consumer trend that covers spending on "everyday luxuries" to larger, life-affirming experiences — is booming as people look for a mood boost in times of economic uncertainty.
The volatility we are experiencing is not likely to dissipate for the next five to eight years, retail analysis firm Kantar predicts.
"This gives us a strong indication that treatonomics will persist for at least another three to five years," Kantar's Senior Director Meredith Smith said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
UK goods exports to US fell to 3-year low in June before trade deal
By William Schomberg LONDON (Reuters) -British goods exports to the United States fell to their lowest level in more than three years in June, according to official data published on Thursday that showed the hit from U.S. President Donald Trump's initial import tariff blitz. Sales of British goods to the United States fell to 3.9 billion pounds ($5.3 billion) during the month, down by 0.7 billion pounds from May and about 20% lower than a monthly average of 4.9 billion pounds in 2024. The last time Britain exported fewer goods to the United States - including sales of precious metals which can be volatile - was in February 2022, the Office for National Statistics said. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Trump agreed a trade deal which came into force on June 30 to cut high tariffs on cars and aerospace parts but leaves a 10% tariff on most exports with steel not yet covered. The ONS reported decreases in exports of all commodities to the United States in June with machinery and transport equipment - including cars which were hit by higher initial U.S. duties - down by 0.2 billion pounds. The ONS last week said a third of exporting businesses with 10 or more employees reported an impact from the U.S. tariffs. British imports of U.S. goods increased by 0.2 billion pounds in June, driven by higher aircraft sales, Thursday's data showed. In the April-to-June period, British exports to the United States fell by more than a quarter, reflecting how many manufacturers rushed to send their products across the Atlantic before Trump's first tariffs blitz in April. ($1 = 0.7364 pounds) (Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Birkenstock profit beats estimates as shoemaker outlines plan to cope with tariffs
- Birkenstock (NYSE:BIRK) has posted better-than-anticipated profit in its fiscal third quarter and backed its full-year outlook, as the legacy German shoemaker said it is in a good spot despite the impact of elevated U.S. tariffs on the European Union. Known for its sandals and clogs, the more than 250-year old Birkenstock said it is "well-positioned" to handle President Donald Trump's increased 15% levies on many EU products sent to the U.S. -- a rate agreed upon by Washington and Brussels in late July. In a statement, CEO Oliver Reichert said the company will look to mitigate the duties through "a combination of pricing adjustment, cost discipline and inventory management." The firm backed its prior guidance for annual adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization margin of 31.3% to 31.8%. Analysts had seen the figure at 31.5%. At constant currency, revenue growth is also tipped to be at the "high end" of its predicted range of 15% to 17%. Operating profit in the three months ended on June 30 rose by 27% versus a year ago to 198 million euros, exceeding Bloomberg consensus projections of 182.7 million euros, with Reichert noting that income was bolstered by mid-single-digit expansion in average selling prices. Meanwhile, quarterly revenue increased by 12% to 635 million euros, compared with estimates of 636.3 million, as an uptick in business-to-business sales was offset by weaker-than-expected demand in the Americas region and at its direct-to-consumer segment. Shares of Birkenstock climbed by more than 3% in premarket U.S. trading on Thursday. Related articles Birkenstock profit beats estimates as shoemaker outlines plan to cope with tariffs If Powell goes, does Fed trust go with him? 7 Undervalued Stocks on the Rise With 50%+ Upside Potential Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
UBS Recommends Options Pair Trade to Ride S&P 500's Grind Higher
(Bloomberg) -- The slow and steady march higher in the US stock market has been a painful ride for traders expecting President Donald Trump's tariffs to derail a rally that's lasted for more than four months. While there's no guarantee the quiet climb to fresh records will continue, those willing to bet it will should consider putting on a moderately bullish options trade known as a call ratio spread, according to Maxwell Grinacoff, head of US equity derivatives research at UBS Group AG. The US-Canadian Road Safety Gap Is Getting Wider Sunseeking Germans Face Swiss Backlash Over Alpine Holiday Congestion To Head Off Severe Storm Surges, Nova Scotia Invests in 'Living Shorelines' Five Years After Black Lives Matter, Brussels' Colonial Statues Remain For Homeless Cyclists, Bikes Bring an Escape From the Streets The strategy involves buying a call option that's near-the-money, meaning it will profit if the S&P 500 goes up by a relatively small amount in the next month. To fund the trade, he suggests selling twice the number of calls at a significantly higher level. The key to putting on the trade is picking a point where you believe the S&P 500 will be in a month, while correctly choosing a higher level that it's unlikely to hit. 'What ends up happening is, as the market is slowly grinding higher, the one that you're long makes money,' explained Grinacoff. 'And the two that you're short, you typically strike it at a level where you just don't think the S&P is going to get to by expiry.' Grinacoff first suggested the trade to clients in early June and it has performed well. There are good reasons to believe it could continue to be profitable as the index quietly scales new heights following a surprisingly strong earnings season and mostly in-line inflation data that has fueled anticipation of upcoming Federal Reserve rate cuts. Elsewhere in options markets, traders also appear to be expecting further gains ahead. Those who had hedged are abandoning pessimistic positions, pushing the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) — which gauges the expected volatility in the S&P 500 over the next month — to its lowest level since Christmas Eve of last year. The VIX dropped to the same level as the S&P 500's 10-day realized volatility on Tuesday for the first time since late May, indicating concerns over a tariff-driven selloff are fading. The plunge in the VIX — which has dropped to about 14 from over 20 at the start of the month — was driven by 'capitulation' among those hedging for an August tariff tantrum that has yet to arrive, according to Mandy Xu, head of derivatives market intelligence at Cboe Global Markets Inc. The continued move higher in stocks has been 'frustrating a lot of hedgers, who are throwing in the towel at this point,' Xu told Bloomberg. There is one risk on the horizon that could interrupt the continued slow and steady march higher in the S&P 500 in the next month. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak at the central bank's Jackson Hole Economic Symposium on Aug. 23, an annual event that is often used to signal the near-term outlook for US monetary policy. While fed-funds futures traders are currently fully pricing in a quarter percentage point reduction in the benchmark rate in September, and 2.5 cuts of that size by the end of the year, an especially hawkish speech by Powell could suddenly cause expectations to shift and create market volatility. Still, even that event is not expected to shake up the S&P 500 too much: Options markets are pricing in an impled move of about 0.67% on the day of the speech, less than the 0.83% implied move after Nvidia Corp.'s earnings report the following week, according to Citigroup equity trading strategists led by Stuart Kaiser. The call ratio spread recommended by Grinacoff is 'pretty standard trade in this environment,' said Xu. 'What you are looking to express is that the market is going to grind higher.' --With assistance from Jessica Menton. Americans Are Getting Priced Out of Homeownership at Record Rates Dubai's Housing Boom Is Stoking Fears of Another Crash Why It's Actually a Good Time to Buy a House, According to a Zillow Economist Bessent on Tariffs, Deficits and Embracing Trump's Economic Plan The Electric Pickup Truck Boom Turned Into a Big Bust ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
