U.S. stocks hit fresh records as the S&P 500 nears 7,000 and Nvidia breaks above $204

Markets everywhere are going wild. Stocks across the globe are smashing records as three big events collide; Trump’s return to the trade spotlight, Nvidia’s monster run, and Jerome Powell’s next move.

U.S. stock futures barely moved Tuesday night, but it didn’t matter. The damage was already done during the day. The S&P 500 climbed 0.2% and broke above 6,900 intraday for the first time, inching toward 7,000.

The Dow Jones added 162 points, up 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite led the charge with a 0.8% jump. After-hours, Dow futures fell by 33 points, or 0.07%. The S&P 500 stayed flat. Nasdaq 100 futures ticked up 0.02%.

Asia rallies as Nvidia lifts chips, but Japan’s rally is razor thin

Nvidia surged nearly 2% in overnight trading. The chipmaker hit a fresh record above $204, as reported by Cryptopolitan. This comes during an AI-fueled market surge, pushing Nvidia further into global spotlight.

But Japan’s massive rally is starting to look top-heavy. The Nikkei 225 spiked 2.17%, closing at 51,307.65, a new record. But here’s the catch—only 43 stocks in the index moved higher, according to Bloomberg. That’s the fewest number of gainers seen during a 1.7% rally.

Most of the move came from two names: Advantest Corp. and SoftBank. Advantest soared to its limit after raising its earnings outlook.

The AI-chip test equipment maker, along with SoftBank, added 7,100 yen to the Nikkei this year, which is 60% of the index’s gain. The NT ratio, which compares Nikkei to the broader Topix, hit a record high, underlining just how concentrated this move is.

South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.76%, lifted by techs, while the Kosdaq slipped 0.28%. In China, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.69% to 4,015.83 and CSI 300 was up roughly 1%. Hong Kong was offline for holidays.

In India, the Nifty 50 rose 0.50% to 26,064.70. Australia’s ASX 200 dropped 0.96% after consumer prices for Q3 came in at 3.2%, well above the 3% forecast. It’s the biggest gain in more than a year, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday.

Bitcoin stalls, Europe cautious, Powell and earnings dominate

Bitcoin is sitting just above $113,000, trying to escape the range it’s been stuck in. It bounced from $107,000 after Spot ETF netflows finally turned positive.

But inflows are still weak at less than 1,000 BTC/day, way below the 2,500 BTC/day seen during previous rallies. The $111K level is holding as support, while $117K has turned into a wall of sellers. The all-time high is over $125,000, hit a few weeks ago.

Over in the currency world, dollar-yen option volume is drying up. Data from the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation shows Monday’s volume was the lowest this month, and Tuesday didn’t do much better.

Traders are sitting on their hands, waiting for the Bank of Japan’s decision Thursday, and of course, the Fed’s announcement later today.

Europe is nervous. European stocks are set to open in the red. FTSE is just under flat, Germany’s DAX seen down 0.4%, France’s CAC 40 off 0.16%, and Italy’s FTSE MIB dipping 0.12%, according to data from IG. Investors are all watching for Powell’s tone.

The CNBC Fed Survey says 84% of traders expect another cut in December, and 54% see a third one in January. They’re pricing in a total of 100 basis points of cuts by the end of 2026, which would drop the Fed funds rate to 3.2%.

Earnings season is stacked. Big Tech is on deck—Alphabet, Meta, and Microsoft are reporting after today’s close. Apple and Amazon follow tomorrow.

Europe’s corporate calendar is just as loaded: Airbus, UBS, Banco Santander, Equinor, Deutsche Bank, BASF, Adidas, GSK, and Endesa will all release earnings Thursday. On top of that, Spain will publish its GDP data.

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