Stocks Ride Volatile Wave as Nvidia Drama Unfolds

Wall Street started the week looking to bounce back from a rocky stretch that briefly pushed the Nasdaq into correction territory. Falling oil prices helped lift sentiment Monday, before the Dow scored another 1,000-point gain. The rally didn't last long, though. Hotter-than-expected inflation data sent stock futures lower Tuesday, adding to rate-hike worries after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller suggested a December hike was likely. Stocks bounced back Wednesday as tech made a comeback, but rate concerns stuck around. Stocks returned those gains Thursday however as Trump's latest comments on Iran added some pressure, and Nvidia (NVDA) dominated headlines.

Nvidia Drama Drives Market Sentiment

Nvidia (NVDA) was arguably the biggest focus this week, with the stock weighing on the broader tech sector Tuesday before bouncing back Wednesday as strong results from CoreWeave (CRVW) lifted chip stocks. The drama picked up again Thursday, when CEO Jensen Huang resigned and Colette Kress stepped in as interim chief. The news followed a board meeting Wednesday to discuss his possible removal.

Elsewhere however, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) received an upgrade from Oppenheimer Monday, with analysts seeing room for a rebound after its recent pullback. William Blair also upgraded the stock Thursday, citing rival Nvidia's dropoff. Earlier in the week, Costco Wholesale (COST) was trading in record territory after announcing a special cash dividend and fresh buyback program. In more recent news, Microsoft (MSFT) shares are under pressure after the company's international Outlook outage. 

Earnings Movers & Losers

It was a mixed week for AI stocks reporting earnings. CoreWeave stock impressed with its third-quarter results and raised its full-year outlook, helping fuel Wednesday's tech rally. Nebius (NBIS), meanwhile, fell after giving a disappointing forecast and announcing plans to spend more on capital expenditures. Rocket Lab (RKLB) also took a hit earlier in the week after reporting weaker-than-expected third-quarter results and delaying its Neutron rocket's first flight until 2027.

Outside of AI, several stocks sold off following earnings. Hims & Hers Health (HIMS) fell after a surprise third-quarter loss and lowered revenue forecast, while Groupon (GRPN) and GeneDx (WGS) also slid after sharing earnings, while options traders mostly leaned bearish across the group.

Nvidia Earnings on Deck

Next week will bring a lighter slate of earnings and economic data, with minutes from October's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting and retail sales figures taking center stage. A handful of notable companies, including several blue chips, are still scheduled to report quarterly results. Some of the big names expected include Home Depot (HD), Lowe's (LOW), and Nvidia (NVDA).

Don't miss out on Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White's take on heavy put attention for bullish stocks, as well as Senior V.P. of Research Todd Salamone's dig into the S&P 500's latest technical breakdown.