Bonds & Stocks
Worries over whether Nvidia Corp. can deliver another blockbuster earnings beat sent US equity futures lower on Wednesday, with investors questioning the durability of the frenzy over artificial intelligence. The company described by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s trading desk as "the most important stock on earth" could shake up markets given its high weighting in equity indexes. Nvidia is at the heart of the AI revolution, boasting the best performance in the S&P 500 this year after more than tripling in 2023.
Economy
US mortgage rates jumped above 7% for the first time since early December, dealing a blow to the housing market's nascent recovery. The contract rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage increased 19 basis points in the week ended Feb. 16 to 7.06%, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data released Wednesday. It was the largest weekly increase since October. The MBA's index of applications for home-purchase mortgages fell more than 10% to the lowest level since November. The gauge has declined in each of the past four weeks.
World
India's market regulator has found a hole of more than $240 million in the accounts of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., dealing another blow to the embattled media firm less than a month after its merger with Sony Group Corp's local unit collapsed. As part of its investigation into the Zee founders, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, or Sebi, found that about 20 billion rupees ($241 million) may have been diverted from the company, said people familiar with the matter who did not want to be identified as the information is not public yet. That's roughly ten times of what was initially estimated by Sebi investigators, the people said.