Nuclear energy is set to play a crucial role in powering artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, as suggested by industry executives. The importance of this energy source is gaining attention amid growing concerns about energy consumption in the tech sector, particularly with the expanding demand for AI capabilities.
In the financial world, the Nasdaq index experienced a boost of 1.5%, gaining 277 points on Monday afternoon. This uptick followed President Joe Biden’s announcement of his withdrawal from the presidential race, alongside his endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 also saw increases of 0.3% and 1.1%, respectively.
Market sentiment seems to be leaning towards Harris as the Democratic nominee, according to a crypto-based betting platform, Polymarket, while the New Zealand-based PredictIt platform has projected her as the likely next president of the United States.
In corporate news, Nvidia’s shares jumped 4% after reports surfaced that the company is developing a version of its Blackwell AI chips specifically for the Chinese market. Nvidia aims to collaborate with local distributor Inspur, with plans to ship the new chip, tentatively named the “B20,” by the second quarter of 2025.
Tesla’s stock also gained momentum, rising nearly 5% the day before its much-anticipated earnings report, where CEO Elon Musk is expected to provide insights on the progress of the delayed robotaxi project. Musk expressed optimism about the company having humanoid robots available for internal operations next year, with broader availability anticipated by 2026.
CrowdStrike, the cybersecurity firm involved in a significant global tech outage last week, is working to restore services. The company reported that a substantial number of the approximately 8.5 million affected Windows devices are now operational. Despite this progress, CrowdStrike’s stock fell over 13% on Monday afternoon, trading around $263.
Verizon faced a challenging day, with its stock dropping nearly 6% following the release of its earnings report. The telecommunications giant missed quarterly revenue expectations as customers tend to hold onto their old phones longer, affecting the company’s promotional plans. Verizon reported second-quarter revenue of $32.8 billion, slightly below analysts’ expectations of $33.06 billion, but its earnings per share remained in line at $1.15.
Overall, while there have been fluctuations in individual stocks and sectors, the broader market appears to be responding positively to recent political developments, and technological advancements, particularly in AI and nuclear energy, maintain a hopeful outlook for future growth.