a day ago
Chipmakers, Intel and Lithium: 3 Things
Nvidia (NVDA) and AMD (AMD) have agreed to give 15% of its China chip sales to the U.S. Government as Intel (INTC)'s boss readies himself for a meeting with Donald Trump. Elsewhere, Lithium prices were sent soaring after a mine closed down in China.
Okay, before we kick off the things you need to know before the opening bell rings, let's take a look at where US futures stand. So, well, it looks like Wall Street's bull run looks set to continue. Remember last week, the Nasdaq hit two consecutive record highs while the S&P 500 narrowly missed its own record high on Friday. Big tech was firmly in focus last week with Apple posting its best week since 2020. And our first thing you need to know before that opening bell rings is again focused on tech. In what can only be described as an unusual agreement, Nvidia and AMD have agreed to pay 15% of their China chip sale revenue to the US government. Why? Well, it's seen as one way the firms can secure export licenses from the Trump administration that were granted last week. Shares of both were down in the pre-market as you can see here. Now, Nvidia will give a share of its revenues from the sale of its H20 chip sales in China, while AMD will do the same for the sale of its MI308 chips. The arrangement reflects US President Donald Trump's consistent effort to engineer a financial payout for America in return for concessions on trade. His administration has shown a willingness to relax trade conditions like tariffs in return for giant investments in the US. Beijing, which has grown increasingly hostile to the idea of Chinese firms deploying the H20 is unlikely to warm to the idea of a chip tax. Well, we're staying with chips for the next thing you need to know before that opening bell rings. Intel CEO, Lip Butan, is set to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House later today. They're going to be discussing cooperation between Intel and the US government. The Intel boss's personal and professional experience is also likely to come under the spotlight. Remember last week, the president called for Tan to resign amid suspicions of a conflict of interest. And remember, Trump ally, Tom Cotton, sent a letter to the Intel CEO questioning Tan's investments in Chinese companies. And the final thing you need to know before the opening bell rings is that Chinese electric battery maker, manufacturing firm, CATL has suspended production at one of its lithium mines in China. The move came after its mining license expired on Saturday. This sent the price of lithium futures soaring in China as well as stocks related to met, the metal needed to run electric cars.
