Key Takeaways

  • Alphabet may overshadow OpenAI with launch of Gemini
  • AMD shares soared almost 10% as the tech behemoth unveils new AI chip

All About AI

The tech-heavy Nasdaq took the lead on a broad market rally Thursday, notching up 1.4%. The benchmark index was pushed higher by investor optimism surrounding AI giant AMD and Google parent Alphabet as the two make moves in the generative AI stratosphere. 

AI chipmaker AMD took charge during yesterday’s session, pushed higher by investors wanting a piece of the AI pie. The stock soared almost 10% as the giant unveiled its brand new chip, the Instinct MI300, targeted at generative AI.

Further, Alphabet shares jumped 5.3% by the end of Thursday’s session after the rollout of their new AI model Gemini, which claims to outperform OpenAI’s ChatGPT in many ways. Markets were excited by the model’s ability to process text, video, and audio, and rushed to be part of the action – adding a casual $80 billion to its market value. 

In saying that, it was only earlier this year when the tech heavyweight was weighed down by selloffs to the tune of $100 billion after its Bard chatbot failed to impress during a promotional video.

Today’s the Day

In economic news, today’s the day market participants have been waiting all week for. The release of November’s nonfarm payroll data is sure to ignite further chatter among market participants over the Federal Reserve’s next interest rate move. 

Released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the nonfarm payroll data measures the number of workers in private and government sectors, excluding farming and non-profit employees, and active military. 

The number of workers expected to rejoin the workforce after labor strikes, such as the Hollywood and Auto strikes, lies somewhere around 50,000, adding to the 190,000 forecast. Should this number be anywhere less-than-expected, it would indicate a cooling labor market, reiterating the Fed’s higher-for-longer stance. 

To wrap it up neatly, it’s going to be interesting to watch Gemini and AMD’s new chip develop and grow. It’s clear markets are quite literally foaming at the mouth for AI, so for our traders, it would be a good idea to keep a close eye on any further progress on machine intelligence.