TradingKey

Nvidia (NVDA) is in talks with U.S. artificial intelligence startup Reflection AI regarding a potential acquisition or additional investment. The acquisition discussions remain in the early stages, and a deal could be reached in the coming weeks or may ultimately fail to materialize. Options currently under discussion include a full acquisition, a talent acquisition, an increased equity investment, and providing Reflection AI with additional chips and computing resources. A talent acquisition typically refers to Nvidia absorbing the company's core employees and licensing its technology, which may involve fewer regulatory and integration hurdles than a full acquisition, though it does not mean it can entirely bypass regulatory scrutiny.

TradingKey - On October 2, Eastern Time, after Toshiba announced an expansion plan for data center hard disk drives (HDDs), Western Digital (WDC) and Seagate (STX) closed down 10.22% and 10.21% respectively on the day. The expansion plan sparked market concerns over increased future supply, HDD pricing, and manufacturers' profit margins.

For the week ending October 9, shares of Cerebras Systems (CBRS) once again approached all-time lows since its Nasdaq debut. The AI chip company went public in May this year at a market capitalization close to $95 billion and was viewed by investors as a challenger to Nvidia in the AI chip sector. However, the stock has remained under continuous pressure since then, currently down more than 50% from its record high. The immediate trigger for the sharp pullback in valuation was OpenAI's decision to select Nvidia GPUs over Cerebras chips to provide computing power when launching its GPT-6.1 Sol "Ultrafast" mode.

Crude oil prices remained firm at elevated levels, with Brent crude (UKOIL) trading at $104.43, as US-Iran negotiations currently remain at the proposal-exchange stage, with no ceasefire or peace agreement reached yet. The direction of oil prices remains in the balance. Signals from the US regarding the de-escalation of the conflict with Iran and increased diesel supply exert downward pressure on oil prices, while attacks on Middle East infrastructure and tight tanker capacity continue to support the supply risk premium. The subsequent trajectory of oil prices will depend on whether policy commitments and actual supply improvements can be delivered simultaneously.

While the revenues of artificial intelligence companies continue to grow rapidly, investments surrounding their data centers, GPUs, power supply, and chip supply chains have already entered the "trillion-dollar era." The question then becomes straightforward: Can such massive infrastructure spending ultimately translate into sufficient revenues, profits, and economic growth?

According to South Korean media outlet The Elec, ASML will implement a uniform 10% price increase on replacement parts for lithography equipment supplied to the South Korean market, effective with shipments starting in January 2027. The price hike covers all spare parts for both extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography systems. This adjustment will raise equipment maintenance costs for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, while reflecting semiconductor equipment suppliers' push for greater pricing power amid AI-related capacity expansion.

TRON suffers a five-day losing streak, retreating to defend a key support level at $0.33. Could there be a further 18% downside ahead?

TradingKey - Goldman Sachs heads into October 13 earnings with record Q2 results, strong equities trading and a more challenging backdrop for FICC and dealmaking.

As Ripple-backed Evernorth debuts on Nasdaq, can XRP usher in a new rally?

TradingKey - UnitedHealth heads into October 13 earnings with improving medical costs and Optum margins, but weaker Medicare Star Ratings and regulatory scrutiny add risk.

TradingKey - As of Friday (October 9) Eastern Time, copper prices (COPPER) rebounded significantly, closing up 1.64% at $14,537, bringing the weekly cumulative gain to 2.08% and reversing the previous week's decline. The recent renewed strength in international copper prices was mainly supported by factors including supply disruption risks at Chilean copper mines, a recovery in China's import demand, and declining exchange inventories. However, the trajectory of the US dollar and US interest rate expectations may still limit the short-term upside for copper prices.

Binance responded to Iranian sanctions, stating that it has frozen and offboarded non-compliant accounts, as BNB strengthened past $750.

TradingKey - Palantir (PLTR) shares have recently continued to trend higher, further breaching the $200 round-number mark on October 9. On that day, PLTR closed at $209.05, surging 5.17% and touching an intraday high of $209.58 to hit an all-time high, with a trading volume of approximately 37.58 million shares. Prior to this, the stock gained 2.40% on October 8, bringing the cumulative gain over the two trading days to around 7.7%. Calculated from the closing price of $188.75 on October 2, PLTR rose roughly 10.8% over the following sessions, with its short-term price baseline shifting noticeably higher.

NEAR surged 8% in a standout rally, decisively breaching the $5 level and erasing losses from its recent pullback.

TradingKey - On October 9, Eastern Time, Intel (INTC) closed down 2.22% at $104.70.

TradingKey - On Saturday (October 10), Bitcoin (BTC) extended its rebound from the previous trading session. As of writing, Bitcoin was trading near $82,700, posting a modest daily gain. On Friday, Bitcoin rose about 1.1%, briefly touching around $83,500 intraday after falling to near $80,400 on Thursday. Although the price has recovered part of its losses, it has yet to effectively break above $83,000, and the short-term trend remains in a post-correction recovery phase.

The crypto market came under downward pressure, with Bitcoin falling below $83,000 and Ethereum simultaneously losing the $2,500 mark.

TradingKey - On October 9, Eastern Time, AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) closed down 10.48% at $50.97, touching an intraday low of $47.57 and setting a new 52-week low.

TradingKey - According to a report by Puck News on Friday citing people familiar with the matter, Netflix (NFLX) plans to lay off approximately 5% of its workforce. The plan has not yet been officially announced, and a Netflix spokesperson declined to comment. The exact scale of the layoffs and the affected departments remain to be confirmed.

• Solana implemented 200-millisecond slot times, halving block production intervals. • Institutional settlement frameworks and stablecoin integration boosted capital allocation. • Derivatives short liquidations amplified the intraday price advance.