Nvidia Replaces Intel in the Dow Friday

54 minutes ago

Nvidia (NVDA) joined the Dow Jones Industrial Average Friday, replacing storied chipmaker Intel (INTC) as the artificial intelligence (AI) darling cements its position as the world’s most valuable company.

The change took effect prior to the start of trading, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices, which manages the blue-chip index, in an announcement at the start of the month.

Nvidia shares have risen nearly three-fold since the start of the year, driven by insatiable demand for the company’s family of AI chips— including its next generation Blackwell graphics processing units (GPUs). The AI boom has helped the chip designer to leapfrog Microsoft (MSFT) and Apple (AAPL) to become the most valuable publicly listed company in the world.

In contrast, Intel shares are down almost 50% this year, as it struggles with a costly turnaround under CEO Pat Gelsinger. 

Paint maker Sherwin-Williams (SHW) also became a member of the blue-chip index Friday, supplanting chemical giant Dow (DOW). 

–Nisha Gopalan

Bitcoin Near Record Highs—Key Levels to Watch

1 hr 54 min ago

Bitcoin (BTCUSD) was down slightly Friday after surging to a record high near $77,000 yesterday amid optimism about how the cryptocurrency might benefit from a Donald Trump’s presidency.

Investors view a future Trump Administration as a positive development for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency more broadly, specifically in relation to regulation and the potential for the creation of a federal strategic bitcoin reserve, two areas the president-elect addressed when delivering a speech at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in July.

The Trump-fueled momentum comes at a welcome time for the legacy cryptocurrency, which has traded mostly sideways over the past seven months as exuberance subsided following the launch of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in January and the asset’s halving event in April. Since the start of the year, Bitcoin has gained around 80%, adding the lion’s share of those gains in the first quarter.

Bitcoin has broken out above the upper trendline of a cup and handle pattern, potentially marking the start of a near-term move higher.

A measured move, which calculates the depth of the “cup” portion of the pattern and adds that amount to the formation’s top trendline, projects a price target of $126,000. Investors should watch key support levels on Bitcoin's chart around $70,000 and $53,000.

Read the full technical analysis piece here.

–Timothy Smith

Major Index Stock Futures Mixed

2 hr 30 min ago

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.1%.

S&P 500 futures were down fractionally.

Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.2%.

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