1. NVDA’s rising competition

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang attributed the company's dominance in AI chips to a decade-long investment and a team of thousands of engineers, emphasizing its transformation from a gaming to a data center-focused company. During the shareholder meeting, Huang highlighted Nvidia's strategy to maintain its market lead, including partnerships with computer makers and cloud providers, and positioning its AI chips as the most cost-effective despite higher upfront costs. Nvidia's stock, which surged over 200% last year and recently split 10-for-1, fell slightly as Huang addressed competition and strategic initiatives. Shareholders approved executive compensation, with Huang receiving a $34 million package for fiscal 2024.

2. Amazon’s $2 trillion market cap

Amazon shares rose 3.9% to $193.61 on Wednesday, pushing the company's market cap past $2 trillion for the first time, joining Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet, and Microsoft in this valuation milestone. This surge comes amid heightened investor excitement around generative AI, with Amazon's shares up 27.5% this year, outpacing the tech-heavy Nasdaq's 18% rise. The company's Amazon Web Services (AWS) division is rebounding from a slowdown, benefiting from increased demand for AI services. Additionally, recent cost-cutting measures and widespread layoffs have bolstered Amazon's earnings growth, under CEO Andy Jassy's leadership. Amazon first reached a $1 trillion market cap in 2018, achieving the $2 trillion mark over four years later.

3. Yen hits a new low

The Japanese yen hit a near-38 year low against the U.S. dollar at 160.82 on Wednesday, sparking expectations of potential government intervention. This breach, the weakest level since 1986, follows a previous intervention in May when Japan's Ministry of Finance spent $62.25 billion to stabilize the yen. Analysts, including Carol Kong from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, suggest another intervention may be imminent, especially if upcoming U.S. personal consumption expenditures data drives the USD/JPY pair higher. Japan's top currency diplomat, Masato Kanda, expressed serious concern over the yen's decline, attributing it to speculative actions and signaling readiness to act against excessive volatility.

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/27/yen-crosses-160-against-dollar.html