Bitcoin price today: steady near $92k after sharp losses; Fed caution weighs
Investing.com - Futures hover around the flatline ahead of much-anticipated quarterly earnings from Nvidia which could sway the course of soaring enthusiasm around artificial intelligence. In focus will likely be the semiconductor titan’s outlook for data center infrastructure investment, especially after markets, fretting over the sustainability of heavy spending, have sold off sharply in recent session. Meanwhile, Lowe’s and Target will offer fresh insight into the health of the U.S. consumer prior to the key holiday shopping period, and minutes from the Federal Reserve’s October monetary policy meeting will be released.
1. Futures subdued
U.S. stock futures were muted on Wednesday, as investors assessed the steep decline in equities and buckled up for Nvidia’s earnings.
By 02:37 ET (07:37 GMT), the Dow futures contract, S&P 500 futures, and Nasdaq 100 futures were all mostly unchanged.
The main averages on Wall Street sank in the prior session, extending what has become a multi-day rout in stocks fueled by concerns over often debt-fueled spending on AI and lofty tech sector valuations. Chipmakers like Advanced Micro Devices, Marvell and Micron all fell, dragging down the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index.
Underscoring the jittery sentiment, a survey of fund managers carried out by Bank of America found that the largest "tail risk" -- or possibility of an event causing catastrophic investment losses -- for markets is that the AI industry is in a "bubble."
In individual stocks, Home Depot’s shares slumped 6% after the home improvement giant trimmed its full-year forecast, in a downbeat curtain-raiser for a slew of retail earnings due out this week.
Elsewhere, fresh data from payrolls processor ADP indicated that private-sector job losses eased in the four weeks ending on November 1, while government figures showed that the number of Americans on jobless benefits jumped between mid-September and mid-October.
2. Nvidia earnings in focus
All eyes are now on upcoming results from Nvidia, the company whose place at the center of the AI spending bonanza has made it one of the most influential players in the U.S. stock market.
With a market capitalization that stands at $4.41 trillion, Nvidia currently makes up more than 7% of the weighting of the benchmark S&P 500. As a result, its returns and outlook could heavily sway market sentiment in the final weeks of 2025.
What is more, analysts at Capital Economics flagged, AI is not only powering the stock market, but also boosting U.S. economic growth -- meaning that the implications of Nvidia’s latest numbers may extend well beyond Wall Street.
Nvidia, whose graphics processing units have become the gold standard for both training and running AI models, is tipped to post third-quarter revenue of $55.19 billion and adjusted operating income of $36.46 billion, Bloomberg consensus forecasts showed.
"[W]e expect the near-term investor debate to remain centered on the sustainability of infrastructure investment," despite another round of hyperscaler capital expenditure increases and commentary on continued investment, analysts at Stifel said in a note.
They added that worries around a crush of circular dealmaking in the AI sector, much of it revolving around Nvidia, have "increased as well," although the firm is still "best positioned" to benefit from an expected uptick in AI compute demand.
Shares of Nvidia were under pressure prior to the earnings, falling by 2.8% on Tuesday.
3. Lowe’s, Target to report
Retail chains Lowe’s and Target are also scheduled to report their own earnings prior to the start of U.S. trading.
Off-price brand TJX Companies will unveil earnings before the opening bell today too, while Walmart will report on Thursday.
Apart from Nvidia, retailers have been in focus for investors this week, especially after a prolonged government shutdown left markets without a raft of official data needed to gauge the state of the American consumer and broader economy.
Home Depot offered a decidedly gloomy view of the topic on Tuesday.
Executives at the firm had been hoping that a combination of lower interest and mortgage rates would underpin a spike in demand, but the uptick failed to materialize. The results painted a picture of consumer caution prior to the crucial holiday season, with Americans opting to shy away from pricier home renovations and installations in the face of uncertainty sparked by elevated U.S. tariffs.
4. FOMC minutes ahead
Meanwhile, minutes from the Federal Reserve’s October meeting are set to be released on Wednesday.
The central bank slashed rates by 25 basis points to a range of 3.75% to 4% at the gathering last month, following an equally-sized reduction in September.
However, Fed Chair Jerome Powell later stressed that, despite expectations for another drawdown at the final policy meeting in December, a cut next month is not a foregone conclusion.
The dearth of fresh official economic indicators during the federal government shutdown has also led some members to call for caution before rolling out another reduction, although Fed Governor Christopher Waller backed such a move earlier this week.
Subsequently, how the December meeting will turn out essentially remains a 50-50 coin-flip, CME’s FedWatch Tool has shown.
5. Bitcoin bounces
Bitcoin rebounded on Wednesday, indicating that there were some buyers of the world’s largest cryptocurrency after a decline that has wiped out all of its gains logged in 2025.
Risk sentiment, one of the central drivers of the digital token, has been dented by the broader market wariness surrounding the trajectory of the AI industry. Market participants have also highlighted the impact of murkiness clouding the Fed’s December rate decision.
Some $3.7 billion has flowed out of U.S. Bitcoin-linked exchange-traded funds since October 10, when wider stock markets were hit by fears over renewed trade tensions between the U.S. and China, Reuters reported.
According to data from market tracker CoinGecko cited by the news agency, the total market value of all cryptocurrencies over the past six weeks has fallen by $1.2 trillion.
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