Tonight’s Highlights | Broadcom Plunges, Dow Futures Hit Record High – Capital Flees AI for Cyclicals

The three major U.S. index futures are mixed. As of press time, Dow futures are up 0.16% (touching a new high intraday), S&P 500 futures down 0.06%, Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.49%.

 

Broadcom down nearly 6% pre-market after forecasting a 1% contraction in Q1 gross margin due to AI products. The chip sector is broadly weak, with AMD and ASML both down over 1%.  

 

Lululemon up over 10% after raising full-year profit guidance.

 

On the previous trading day, the three major U.S. indices closed mixed, with the Dow Jones up 1.34% to a new high. Analysts say investors are rotating into cyclical stocks while taking profits on AI-related growth names.

 

Northlight Asset Management CIO Chris Zaccarelli commented: “The Dow is outperforming — if this continues, it could signal the bull market is broadening.”  

 

He added: “The key to the bull market’s longevity is whether other sectors can keep rising even without the ‘Magnificent Seven’ — if momentum spreads successfully, we expect the bull to run through year-end and into early next year.”

 

Interactive Investor market head Richard Hunter wrote: “With the Fed cutting and possibly cutting more, traders are looking for other real assets — this rotation provides some hedging.”

 

European stocks trading now are mixed: Germany DAX +0.16%, UK FTSE 100 −0.04%, France CAC 40 +0.42%.  

 

Spot silver briefly climbed to $64.58/oz, a fresh all-time high.

Corporate News  

Nvidia to hold closed-door summit next week to tackle AI-era power shortage crisis  

 

Market sources say Nvidia will host a closed-door summit next week aimed at solving the increasingly severe power shortage in the AI era. Earlier this month, Morgan Stanley raised its 2025–2028 U.S. data-center cumulative power shortfall estimate from 44 GW to 47 GW — equivalent to the electricity consumption of 9 Miamis or 15 Philadelphias.

 

TSMC Japan second fab may shift to 4nm chips to meet AI demand  

 

TSMC is considering producing more advanced 4nm chips at its second Japan fab to address surging AI demand. Three sources say the potential shift from originally planned 6/7nm could delay construction and require design changes. The fab, located in Kumamoto prefecture next to TSMC’s first Japan plant, began construction in late October and is slated for production in 2027.

 

Australia’s under-16 social media ban takes effect – Reddit sues communications minister  

 

Australia’s social media ban for those under 16 officially took effect December 10. Reddit filed a lawsuit in Australia’s High Court against Federal Communications Minister Anika Wells, arguing the law infringes privacy and political communication. Reddit claims in court filings the ban should be declared invalid for interfering with implied freedom of political communication in the Australian Constitution.

 

Indian official: Brookfield to invest $1B in Mumbai global capability center  

 

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis posted on X on December 12 local time that asset manager Brookfield will invest $1 billion to build a global capability center in Mumbai, with an agreement to be signed soon. The project is expected to create 15,000 direct jobs and 30,000 indirect jobs.

 

JD.com recruiting on-device AI chip talent  

 

JD.com is hiring talent in on-device AI chips, mainly focused on compute-in-memory AI chips for robots, smart appliances, and other hardware endpoints. Job postings show salaries of 40–100K RMB × 20 months for compute-in-memory chip design engineers. JD.com has not responded.