Nvidia Powers Nasdaq To Record High As Tech Investors Shrug Off Inflation Data

The Nasdaq surged to a record high on Tuesday after Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) lifted the tech-heavy index, only to pare some of the gains during the day.

Nvidia’s shares surged to a new record on Tuesday, rising by over 5% before losing some steam as investors reacted to the company’s announcement that it would resume the sales of its high-end H20 AI chips to China.

At the time of writing, the Nasdaq 100 index was trading 0.4% higher, slightly below its record high of 23,052.

Nvidia’s shares were up more than 4% at the time of writing, after retreating slightly from a new record high of $172.4. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around the stock was in the ‘extremely bullish’ territory at the time of writing.

The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), which mirrors the Nasdaq 100 index, was up 0.3% at the time of writing, with retail sentiment around the ETF hovering in the ‘neutral’ territory on Stocktwits.

Earlier in the day, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang confirmed that the company will file applications with the U.S. government to obtain a license to sell the H20 graphics processing unit (GPU) to firms in China.

“The Chinese market is massive, dynamic, and highly innovative, and it's also home to many AI researchers. Therefore, it is indeed crucial for American companies to establish roots in the Chinese market,” Huang told China’s state broadcaster, CCTV, on Tuesday, according to a Reuters report.

Nvidia's rival, AMD, has also reportedly been cleared to sell the MI308 AI chip to customers in China. The news helped AMD stock surge more than 6%.

Meanwhile, U.S. equities edged lower on Tuesday after inflation surged again.

At the time of writing, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, was down 0.05%. Stocktwits data shows retail sentiment around the S&P 500 ETF has been in the ‘bullish’ territory over the past week.

According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.3% in June on a seasonally adjusted basis, after a 0.1% rise in May.

On an annual basis, CPI rose 2.7% before the seasonal adjustment, in line with expectations.

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