Medicare patients stand to benefit from a potential savings of $1.5 billion on ten prescription drugs. This news comes amidst significant shifts in the stock market, particularly following President Joe Biden’s announcement on Sunday that he would step down from the presidential race, subsequently endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris.
On Monday afternoon, the Nasdaq Composite saw an increase of 1.5%, adding 277 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.3%, while the S&P 500 climbed 1.1%. Betting markets, such as Polymarket, have begun to favor Harris as the Democratic nominee, with PredictIt suggesting she could become the 47th president of the United States.
In technology news, Nvidia’s shares rose nearly 4% after reports indicated the company is developing a new version of its Blackwell AI chips specifically for the Chinese market. Partnering with local distributor Inspur, Nvidia plans to launch the chip, known as the “B20,” with shipments expected to commence by the second quarter of 2025.
Tesla’s stock experienced a nearly 5% surge a day before its earnings report, during which CEO Elon Musk is anticipated to discuss the delayed unveiling of the company’s robotaxi project. Musk hinted on social media that Tesla will have practical humanoid robots in limited production for internal use in the next year, with hopes of high production for external customers by 2026.
Meanwhile, CrowdStrike continues to recover from the consequences of a recent global tech outage, with many of the approximately 8.5 million affected Windows devices returning to functionality. However, the company’s stock saw a decline of over 13%, trading around $263 in the afternoon.
Verizon’s stock dropped nearly 6% following its quarterly earnings report, which revealed a shortfall in revenue estimates. The company attributed this to customers retaining their old phones longer, negatively affecting upgrade rates tied to promotional mobile plans. Verizon reported second-quarter revenues of $32.8 billion, just shy of analysts’ projected $33.06 billion, while its earnings per share matched expectations at $1.15.