Tonight’s Highlights | Market Sentiment Continues Warming – All Three Major U.S. Index Futures Higher
In Wednesday’s pre-market session, all three major U.S. index futures are rising, while major European indices are broadly higher.
U.S. stocks have now risen for three consecutive trading days. Improving expectations for a Fed rate cut next month, combined with easing concerns over an AI bubble, have both helped lift market sentiment.
Bellwether Wealth President and CIO Clark Bellin said: “The stock market is trying to rebound from the declines of the past few weeks, showing dip-buying remains strong. The November pullback from the late-October high is only about 4% so far – far below the typical 10% correction threshold.”
He added: “While we expect stocks to return to recent highs, there is no clear upward catalyst from now until year-end.”
Investors continue to focus on factors that could influence the Fed’s next rate decision. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, traders now see an ~85% probability of a 25 bps cut in December.
Media reports say White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett has emerged as the leading candidate to be the next Fed Chair. As one of President Trump’s key confidants, Hassett is expected to steer more dovish monetary policy if appointed.
Google is higher pre-market, up 8% this week. Investors are reallocating bets on AI winners, with Google’s in-house TPU seen as a potential challenger to Nvidia’s dominance.
The Fed Beige Book (current economic conditions summary) will be released at 3:00 a.m. Beijing time on Thursday.
Corporate News
Nvidia responds to Google chip threat: Still leads the industry by a full generation, continues supplying Google
Nvidia issued a rare response to market concerns over threats to its AI chip dominance.
“We’re thrilled for Google’s success – they’ve made huge progress in AI, and we continue to supply Google,” Nvidia posted on X. “Nvidia leads the entire industry by a generation – it’s the only platform capable of running all AI models anywhere computing takes place.”
Compared with ASICs designed for specific AI frameworks or functions (such as Google’s TPU), Nvidia claims it offers higher performance, greater versatility, and better substitutability.
Reports earlier said key Nvidia customer Meta is considering adopting Google’s in-house TPUs in future data centers and renting Google Cloud chip resources starting next year.
OpenAI: Expects ChatGPT paid subscribers to reach 220 million within five years
On November 26, reports say OpenAI now forecasts that in five years, its ChatGPT paid subscriber base will exceed 220 million, generating nearly $200 billion in annual subscription revenue.
Additionally, OpenAI expects ~20% of its revenue by 2030 to come from new products such as shopping and ad-driven features.
Musk: Tesla Robotaxi fleet in Austin, Texas to double in size next month
Elon Musk said on X on November 26 local time that Tesla’s Robotaxi fleet in Austin, Texas is expected to double in size next month.
Panasonic Energy to supply lithium-ion batteries to Amazon-backed Zoox
Panasonic Energy, a unit of Panasonic Holdings, announced on November 25 that it will supply lithium-ion batteries to Amazon-owned autonomous ride-hailing company Zoox.
Under a multi-year agreement, Panasonic Energy will begin delivering its latest 2170 cells to Zoox starting in 2026.
World’s first once-weekly basal insulin + GLP-1RA combo Kyinsu approved in EU
On November 26, Novo Nordisk announced that the European Commission has approved Kyinsu for adults with type 2 diabetes whose blood glucose is inadequately controlled with basal insulin or GLP-1RA therapy, as an adjunct to diet and exercise in combination with oral glucose-lowering drugs.
Kyinsu is the world’s first approved fixed-ratio combination of once-weekly basal insulin icodec and once-weekly GLP-1RA semaglutide, administered via a single weekly injection.