Nvidia set the market alight last quarter. Can it repeat the trick?

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Nvidia, the beloved company specializing in artificial intelligence, is set to release its upcoming financial results. This report has the potential to either uplift or further dampen a market that is already experiencing a lack of activity during the summer months.

According to Refinitiv, experts predict that the chip manufacturer will reveal a profit of $2.09 per share and revenues of approximately $11.2 billion for the second quarter once the markets close on Wednesday.

What's going on? Nvidia stocks have been skyrocketing this year due to the increasing demand for artificial intelligence. The company manufactures processors that fuel innovative AI, which can generate fresh content such as text, images, and various forms of media. This technology serves as the cornerstone for ChatGPT and numerous other exciting AI services.

During the announcement of its first-quarter results, Nvidia surprised everyone by exceeding the anticipated earnings and sales. CEO Jensen Huang, in a conference call held after the earnings report, stated that the company is increasing its production to meet the rapidly growing demand.

According to Phillip Toews, who holds the position of CEO at Toews Asset Management, the positive financial report from Nvidia has the potential to improve the overall market sentiment.

This is because Nvidia represents the epitome of the AI excitement that has fueled the rise of stocks in a positive market, despite the US Federal Reserve persistently raising interest rates in its efforts to combat inflation.

Nvidia's stocks have skyrocketed an astonishing 212% this year, making it a top performer among the "Magnificent Seven" stocks, consisting of Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, and Tesla. In May, Nvidia joined the elite group of companies with a market capitalization of $1 trillion, marking its significant achievement as the ninth company to reach this milestone.

Shares in technology companies increased on Monday, showing that investors were feeling positive about Nvidia's financial results. The Nasdaq Composite index, which consists primarily of technology stocks, experienced a significant 1.6% growth on Monday. This surge in value was the largest single-day increase recorded this month and helped to halt the recent decline in the technology sector.

Louis Navellier, the chairman of Navellier & Associates, stated in a note on Tuesday that the anticipated decline in the impressive performance of the technology sector and the subsequent improvement in the performance of other markets has not materialized yet.

Will the technology rally continue? Tech stocks stumbled a bit on Tuesday due to disappointing retail earnings and the surge in Treasury yields, which affected the overall stock market. In such situations, investors usually opt for bonds that offer lucrative yields.

However, out of all the major indices, the Nasdaq Composite was the lone one that managed to end Tuesday's trading session on a positive note, even if it was only by a slight margin. Throughout this week, Nvidia's stocks have experienced a rise of approximately 5%, Tesla's by 8%, Meta's by 2%, and Apple's by 2%.

Dan Ives, a technology analyst at Wedbush Securities, expressed his anticipation for a positive and optimistic view from Nvidia. He believes that this upbeat perspective will serve as the driving force behind the ongoing surge in the technology sector throughout the remainder of the year.

However, if Nvidia's financial results are not strong, it could cause a decline in its stock price as well as in other technology companies.

The potential downfall of Nvidia's quarterly earnings isn't the sole threat to the markets this week.

Jerome Powell, the head of the Federal Reserve, is scheduled to present a speech at the economic symposium organized by the Kansas City Fed in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It was during this event last year that his restatement of the Fed's dedication to controlling inflation caused a significant drop of 1,000 points in the Dow Jones Industrial Average index.

According to my coworker Anna Bahney, American individuals looking to purchase a house are facing an additional hurdle aside from high mortgage interest rates that exceed 7%.

The latest report from the National Association of Realtors reveals that prices have started to increase once more, putting an end to a five-month period of year-on-year decreases.

Last month, the average price for pre-owned houses stood at $406,700, experiencing a 1.9% uptick compared to the same period last year. These figures mark the highest recorded price for the month of July. According to the findings provided by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), prices saw an increase in the Northeast, Midwest, and South regions, while remaining stable in the West.

The persistently meager supply of houses on the market caused a surge in prices. By the end of July, only 1.11 million previously owned homes were accessible for purchase, reflecting a 14.6% decline from the previous year. This marked the smallest quantity of homes available for sale ever recorded during the month of July, despite it being a typically hectic period for real estate transactions.

Homeowners are choosing not to sell their homes and are staying put, taking advantage of their extremely low mortgage rates that are at least half of the current rates, which have reached their highest point in 21 years.

My colleague Clare Duffy has reported that the long-awaited web version of the app was released on Tuesday.

The latest improvement, which is highly desired by users ever since Threads was launched exclusively on mobile devices last month, brings the new platform closer to replicating the features provided by X, the platform previously known as Twitter. This update has the potential to revive user growth after a period of slow progress.

The corporate entity Meta Platforms has announced that Threads users will have the ability to access their accounts, publish content, browse and engage with other posts through a desktop computer's web browser. This new feature will gradually become available to users in the upcoming days.

The corporation has announced its intention to incorporate additional functionalities specifically designed for desktop usage. As part of a preliminary trial involving a selection of web-oriented features, CNN successfully managed to make posts on the platform, albeit the inability to presently scroll through the home feed.