The US stock market remained steady on Wednesday as traders geared up for Nvidia’s blockbuster earnings after the close.
The S&P 500 is flatlining near 6,637, up just 0.3%, while the Dow is ticking up 0.1% and the Nasdaq is edging up 0.4%, essentially treading water.
The quiet reflects a market that’s seen enough volatility recently and wants Nvidia to set the tone for risk appetite going forward.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market is imploding, with Bitcoin down nearly 30% from its October highs and erasing all gains made in 2023, a brutal reminder that even digital assets aren’t immune to sell-offs.
Stocks steady as Nvidia awaits its moment: The AI test
The midday doldrums feel intentional. Nobody wants to make big bets ahead of Nvidia.
The chip giant is expected to report record $54.6 billion in Q3 revenue, up 56% year-over-year, a number so massive it’s almost incomprehensible.
If Nvidia delivers, analysts expect a 7% stock swing, roughly $320 billion in market value moving either direction. That kind of binary outcome keeps traders paralyzed.
What Wall Street really wants from Nvidia isn’t just beating Q3 estimates; everyone expects that.
What matters is forward guidance. Can the company convince investors that demand for AI chips isn’t a three-year phenomenon but a structural multi-decade shift?
The stock is already valued like Nvidia walks on water. If Q4 guidance disappoints, it could signal that the era of easy AI chip growth is ending.
The broader market has already started hedging bets. Defensive names like healthcare and consumer staples are holding up. Utilities are creeping higher.
Meanwhile, speculative tech stocks are being trimmed as investors rotate money to safety. Even Nvidia itself is only up 2% ahead of earnings, a restraint that suggests the market has already priced in a lot of good news.
Retail earnings offered mixed signals. Target stumbled, down 2.5% on weak guidance. But Lowe’s jumped 5.7% after crushing expectations.
That suggests consumer spending is selective, flowing into home improvement rather than cheap retail. That narrative actually helps Nvidia, since AI infrastructure buildout is driving capex across tech and energy.
The crypto crash deepens: Bitcoin erases 2025 gains
While stocks freeze, cryptocurrencies are experiencing an apocalypse. Bitcoin has collapsed below $90,000, down 28% from October’s $126,000 peak.
That’s $600 billion in market value obliterated in weeks. Ethereum is down 21% to below $3,000 levels. Solana has cratered 26% to $139.
The sell-off has pushed Bitcoin negative for 2025 despite spot Bitcoin ETFs injecting billions into the market earlier this year.
The trigger remains murky, but leverage tells the story. When Bitcoin started falling in early October after Trump’s tariff announcements, forced liquidations cascaded across exchanges.
Billions in leveraged positions got wiped out in hours. Once the cascade started, it fed on itself. Small traders saw their collateral vaporize. Large holders took profits at precisely the wrong moment.
What’s shocking is that none of this was supposed to happen. Wall Street embraced crypto in 2025. Spot Bitcoin ETFs provided institutional access.
The Trump administration backed digital assets. Instead of legitimacy, crypto is facing a credibility crisis. Retail investors got burned. Sentiment has turned nasty.
Without a fresh macro catalyst, a Fed policy pivot or trade war pause, analysts see Bitcoin drifting toward $80,000 or worse.
The disconnect is stark: stocks treading water while waiting for Nvidia news, crypto burning in real time.
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