New York, NY – Stocks took a hit on Wednesday as concerns about ongoing inflation weighed on investor sentiment following the release of the latest Federal Reserve meeting minutes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 201.95 points, marking its worst session of the month. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite also experienced losses. However, futures tied to all three indexes showed improvement on Thursday morning, with Nasdaq-100 futures leading the way with a 0.8% increase, boosted by strong performance from Nvidia.
Chipmaker Nvidia reported impressive fiscal first-quarter results that exceeded analyst expectations, causing its stock to soar above $1,000 for the first time in extended trading. The company witnessed a remarkable 262% surge in sales and announced a 10-for-1 stock split. Nvidia’s robust performance indicates sustained demand for its artificial intelligence chips and reflects the overall strength of the AI sector.
Federal Reserve officials expressed growing concerns over the lack of progress in addressing inflation in the minutes from their April meeting. Despite observing a slight decrease in inflation over the past year, the Fed remains hesitant to make any changes to interest rates, keeping the benchmark short-term borrowing rate unchanged at 5.25%-5.5%. The minutes highlighted a lack of substantial progress towards the committee’s 2% inflation target in recent months, prompting a cautious approach to monetary policy.
In a bid to enhance its voice assistant, Amazon is planning to introduce generative artificial intelligence to Alexa to make it more conversational. The tech giant also intends to implement a monthly subscription fee for this upgraded service, separate from Amazon Prime subscriptions. This move is seen as a strategic effort to compete with rivals like Google and OpenAI in the AI-powered chatbot market.
General Motors has unveiled an all-electric version of its Chevrolet Equinox, an iconic model in its lineup for the past two decades. The crossover EV is available for purchase, with higher-priced models starting at around $43,000 to $51,100. GM’s decision to introduce this electric vehicle comes amid slower-than-expected demand for EVs, presenting a test for the company’s new “Ultium” EV technologies and the overall mass-market adoption of electric vehicles.