Andy Chen

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.

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.

Oil prices fell slightly and U.S. stocks rose after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Russia would supply large quantities of diesel to the U.S. and global markets. Technology and pharmaceutical stocks led the gains, while telecom stocks led the declines. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.83% to 51,654.95; the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.64% to 27,366.17; and the S&P 500 Index climbed 0.59% to 7,811.54.

On October 9 Eastern Time, AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) shares fell by as much as 16% intraday, hitting their lowest level since October 2025. The direct cause of the decline was SpaceX's (SPCX) announcement of its acquisition of nationwide 800MHz low-band spectrum, which it plans to integrate with its Starlink satellite network to build an independent mobile carrier business.

On October 9, Eastern Time, Palantir (PLTR) intraday shares reached a new recent high. Barclays initiated coverage on the stock with a "Buy" rating and set a price target of $265. Barclays analyst Anthony Valentini stated that Palantir possesses a deep competitive moat, enabling it to achieve unparalleled growth and margin levels. As the usage of AI applications grows, Palantir is poised to further deepen customer relationships and expand its business scale. Meanwhile, the U.S. government's push for unified data systems also presents growth opportunities for the company's data integration and analytics business.

On October 9, Eastern Time, shares of Moderna (MRNA) rose by more than 10% at one point to hit a new recent high following its official inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 Index. As of press time, Moderna's gain narrowed to 5.74%, trading at $208.31. On the news front, Moderna has yet to release the full Phase 3 clinical trial results for its melanoma vaccine. Citi analyst Geoff Meacham noted that the market expects to see this data at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress in Madrid later this month.

On October 9, Eastern Time, Tesla (TSLA) shares rose by more than 3%, reaching their highest level since late July. According to the latest statistics from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), deliveries from Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory exceeded 95,000 units in September 2026, up from 90,000 units in the same period last year, representing a year-on-year increase of about 5% and a month-on-month growth of 10.7%. This also marks the 11th consecutive month of year-on-year growth for Tesla's Shanghai vehicle factory.

OpenAI's annualized revenue came in $20 billion lower than previously reported, dampening market trading sentiment as US stocks ended mixed. Tech and AI hardware stocks faced a sell-off. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.10% to 51,231.64 points, the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1.25% to 27,193.34 points, and the S&P 500 Index dropped 0.47% to 7,765.36 points.

With the launch of personal AI agent applications such as Meta Muse, market expectations for server CPU demand continue to build. Mizuho raised its price target on AMD from $580 to $705, while Citi raised its target to $800, viewing AMD (AMD) as poised to be a primary beneficiary of the new round of CPU demand expansion.

On October 8 (ET), AI hardware stocks suffered broad losses, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index falling more than 3%. Although AI infrastructure investment continues to expand, earnings prospects among hardware companies are diverging, and the narrative of "continued growth in AI demand" may not be sufficient to support further upside in stock prices.

On October 8, Eastern Time, Starbucks (SBUX) shares fell over 5% during intraday trading. One of the key market focuses was reports that Starbucks is in talks to acquire Chipotle (CMG).

The latest financial disclosure document released by US President Donald Trump shows that accounts under his name executed 517 securities transactions in August. The total value of these transactions ranged from approximately $74.3 million to $273.3 million, with the largest single trade being a purchase of Meta shares worth between $5 million and $25 million.

The 2026 U.S. midterm elections will take place on November 3, with all seats in the House of Representatives and a portion of the Senate up for election. According to CNBC, citing data from polling tracker FiftyPlusOne, Democrats hold a lead of about 6 percentage points in the generic House ballot and need a net gain of just 3 seats to retake control of the House, ending full Republican control of Congress.

When discussing artificial intelligence at the G20, Nvidia's (NVDA) CEO did not focus on GPUs or the latest chips, but instead presented a more foundational framework: the AI economy is like a "five-layer cake," with energy at the bottom layer, followed in order by chips, the land and data center infrastructure hosting the systems, models, and finally the data and applications that create commercial value.

Within the AI data center supply chain, memory and storage are irreplaceable. AI accelerators require high-bandwidth memory to transfer data, while training and inference systems rely on high-capacity DRAM and enterprise SSDs to store models, data, and intermediate results. Among key players, Micron (MU) maintains a presence across DRAM, HBM, and NAND, whereas SanDisk (SNDK) places its main bet on NAND flash memory and enterprise data center storage. While both companies benefit from AI storage demand, what investors ultimately need to determine is whether the better allocation choice is a diversified platform or a pure-play NAND cyclical stock offering higher elasticity.

Oracle's (ORCL) latest earnings report once again reminds the market that substantial capital continues to flow into AI infrastructure buildout, with Dell (DELL) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) standing as potential beneficiaries.

Bloom Energy (BE) shares hit a recent high of $292.72 on September 25. Just two months earlier, on July 29, the fuel cell manufacturer's stock was trading at just $157, representing a staggering gain of 86% over the period.