Major financial news today is being dominated by the Federal Reserve’s anticipated interest rate decision, with markets widely expecting a 25-basis-point cut to support a cooling U.S. labor market, despite ongoing political pressure and a backdrop of elevated inflation.
This key meeting, which will also feature updated economic projections from Fed officials, is the main driver of today’s market sentiment, as U.S. stock futures show mixed performance with a cautious tilt as investors await the outcome.
A recent report from The Financial Times indicates that China’s internet regulator has banned the country’s largest technology companies, including Alibaba and ByteDance, from purchasing AI chips from NVIDIA. The ban specifically targets the RTX Pro 6000D chip, which was designed by NVIDIA for the Chinese market. This move is an escalation of China’s efforts to reduce its reliance on American technology and bolster its domestic semiconductor industry, with Chinese regulators reportedly concluding that homegrown chips from companies like Huawei and Baidu are now comparable to the chips NVIDIA is permitted to sell in China under U.S. export restrictions. The ban follows an earlier move where Chinese officials discouraged companies from buying NVIDIA’s H20 chip and comes amidst a broader trade and technology dispute between the U.S. and China.
