Trading resumed today on the New York Stock Exchange following the Christmas holiday, with early gains across several indexes. In a significant move impacting the tech and AI sectors, Nvidia announced its acquisition of assets from AI startup Groq for approximately $20 billion, the company’s largest investment to date. The deal reflects ongoing consolidation and investment in the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence landscape, as companies race to expand capabilities in large language models and related technologies. Elsewhere, rising precious metal prices and geopolitical tensions are also influencing market activity.
Nvidia is making its largest investment to date, acquiring assets from AI startup Groq for approximately $20 billion.
This story is being updated throughout the trading day.
Trading has resumed on the New York Stock Exchange after being closed for Christmas Day.
Here’s a look at how the markets opened:
- The broad S&P 500 index is up 0.17 percent
- The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite is rising 0.19 percent
- The Dow Jones is up 0.04 percent
Wall Street closed on Christmas Eve at record highs, boosted by strong performance from sportswear giant Nike.
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Massive Groq Investment
AI giant Nvidia is making its largest investment ever, according to CNBC.
The company is acquiring assets from the nine-year-old AI startup Groq for around $20 billion (approximately 199.7 billion Norwegian kroner). Groq specializes in technology aimed at accelerating large language models, a key component of modern AI systems.
Alex Davis, CEO of Disruptive, told CNBC that his firm assisted Groq with its latest funding round.
Groq stated in a blog post that it has entered into a “non-exclusive licensing agreement” for inference technologyinference technologytechnology that draws conclusions from data and observations with Nvidia. The agreement reflects “a shared focus on expanding access to high-performance and affordable inference.”
The company will continue to operate independently, but Groq’s top executives will transition to Nvidia to further develop and scale the technology.
Nvidia shares are up 1.75 percent.
Mining Stock Surge
Several U.S. mining stocks are rising on Friday.
The gains follow record highs for gold and silver, both of which are on track for their largest annual price increases since 1979.
Coeur Mining and Hecla Mining, which mine silver, are up around 3.5 percent. Freeport-McMoRan, which operates one of the world’s largest gold and copper mines in Indonesia, is up around 2 percent.
Increased international unrest, expectations of interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve, and a weak dollar are driving demand for precious metals among investors.
Metals like copper and platinum are also trading at record highs on Friday, according to Bloomberg.
Countermeasures Implemented
Chinese authorities are imposing sanctions on 20 U.S. weapons and defense companies, according to Bloomberg.
The move comes in response to the U.S.’s recent $11 billion arms aid package to Taiwan, according to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation and Boeing are among the sanctioned companies, according to Xinhua.
The state news agency reports that ten top executives are also subject to the countermeasures. Their Chinese assets will be frozen, and organizations and individuals in China will be prohibited from engaging in transactions, cooperation, or “other activities” with them.
