London’s FTSE 100 closed lower on Wednesday as the Nvidia earnings FTSE 100 story dominated investor attention, with traders also rattled by a stronger-than-expected US inflation reading ahead of the chip maker’s closely watched results. The index ended the session down 8.04 points, or 0.1%, at 10,878.12.
Nvidia is one of the most scrutinised companies on global markets right now. It designs graphics processors and the specialised chips that power artificial intelligence (AI) systems, making its quarterly results a barometer for the health of the entire AI sector.
What the Nvidia earnings showed
Nvidia reported its results after the Wall Street close on Wednesday. According to the NVIDIA Newsroom, revenue for the third quarter ended 27 October 2024 came in at $35.1 billion, up 17% from the previous quarter and up 94% from a year earlier. GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) earnings per diluted share reached $0.78, up 111% year-on-year, while non-GAAP earnings per diluted share stood at $0.81, up 103% from the same quarter a year ago.
Ahead of those figures being released, Nvidia shares were trading 1.1% lower during the session. Bank of America had suggested the company should deliver the ‘usual’ 3% to 4% sales beat and raise, but argued that what really matters are balance sheet disclosures. ‘The beat is priced; the balance sheet is the debate,’ Bank of America said, pointing to a ‘buyback pivot toward Apple-style payouts’ as the ‘underappreciated 2H and CY27 catalyst to re-rate the stock’.
US inflation and the Nvidia earnings FTSE 100 mood
The broader market mood was already cautious before Nvidia’s numbers landed. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%, as did the Nasdaq Composite, while the S&P 500 was flat, after the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price gauge (a measure of what households spend on goods and services) rose 3.7% year-on-year in July. That matched June’s figure but came in above the FXStreet-cited forecast of 3.6%.
The core PCE index, which strips out food and energy and is the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, advanced 3.3% year-on-year in July, in line with June and the consensus. ING Chief International Economist James Knightley said the reading was ‘a touch firmer than anticipated’, but ‘that is OK’. He added: ‘As long as the month-on-month rate continues to come in close to 0.2%, the annual rate of inflation will converge on 2% over time, but the question is how much more patience the Fed actually has. Markets continue to price a 25bp rate hike before year-end while economists, in general, still favour an extended pause for policy rates.’
The pound slipped to 1.3590 dollars on Wednesday afternoon from 1.3632 dollars at Tuesday’s equities close. Against the euro, sterling eased to 1.1664 from 1.1683. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury edged up to 4.66% from 4.65% on Tuesday.
Oil, Sage and the session’s movers
Falls in BP and Shell, alongside a sharp drop in Sage, kept the FTSE 100 under pressure. Brent crude for October delivery traded at $88.09 a barrel, down from $89.31 on Tuesday. AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said discussions between Iran and Oman over a temporary corridor through the Strait of Hormuz, US sanctions on Tehran that were ‘less strict than expected’, and hints at continuing diplomatic efforts had all helped push Brent lower. ‘This has helped take the edge off market fears about inflation,’ he added. BP fell 1.1% and Shell dropped 0.5% in response.
Sage led the FTSE 100 fallers, down 3.8%, after Intuit, which owns accountancy software QuickBooks, lowered its financial year 2027 sales guidance to revenue of $23.28 billion to $23.51 billion, representing growth of 9% to 10% year-on-year. That fell below the FactSet consensus of $23.72 billion and was slower than the 14% growth Intuit recorded in the financial year just ended. Intuit itself traded 4.2% lower on Wall Street.
On the FTSE 250, Hochschild Mining rose 6.3% after reporting a strong first-half performance. Pre-tax profit surged to $365.8 million in the six months ended 30 June, from $109.3 million in the same period a year earlier, as revenue climbed 62% to $844.4 million from $520.0 million. Hochschild said the average realised gold and silver prices jumped 47% and 130% respectively, boosting revenue even though gold production was ‘broadly similar’ to a year ago.
Meta Platforms, which owns Facebook and Instagram, saw its shares rise 2.3% after it said it has agreed to pay US states as much as $18 billion and to impose sweeping new limits on how teenagers use its social media platforms. The payment, which can be used to fund youth online safety initiatives among other priorities, will be distributed in annual instalments over a 10-year period.
On AIM, Nexteq gained 11% after its Densitron brand won a new order from ‘a leading supplier of automotive electronics’ for customised electric vehicle display solutions, with production set to start in the second half of 2026. Nexteq said it expects production volumes ‘to materially increase in the following three years as the customer’s product rollout expands’.
Gold traded at $4,596.56 an ounce, down from $4,642.09 on Tuesday. David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation, said gold ‘has rallied a long way in a short space of time, so traders shouldn’t be surprised to see a bit of a correction to the downside, or at least a period of consolidation’. Thursday’s economic calendar brings US initial jobless claims, wholesale inventories data, and the Kansas City Fed manufacturing activity report.
