Quantum computing stocks plunged on Wednesday after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said that "useful quantum computers" were likely 20 years away.
This prompted steep falls in sector leaders, with Rigetti Computing (RGTI), IonQ Inc (IONQ), and Quantum Computing (QUBT) tumbling more than 40% during the trading session.
Huang's comments on Tuesday in a Q&A session with analysts at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), came a day after the CEO unveiled Nvidia's new products during a keynote speech at the conference.
This included the company's GB10 superchip, which it said would be available in a small desktop called Project DIGITS. Huang also debuted Nvidia's open model license Cosmos platform for developing physical AI systems. These physical AI systems include technologies such as humanoid robots and self-driving robots.
While shares closed at a record high ahead of Huang's highly-anticipated speech, the stock then slumped more than 6% in Tuesday's session. Shares then closed Wednesday's session flat and were down nearly 1% in pre-market trading on Thursday.
Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo, said: "While Nvidia showcased exciting innovations, much of the demand for its existing hardware — especially in AI — was already well-known," she said. "Without fresh revenue catalysts, the announcements may have lacked the punch needed to excite investors seeking upside in the near term."
"Tuesday’s sell-off in Nvidia shares may have been a classic case of 'buy the rumor, sell the fact'.
"While the lack of near-term catalysts weighed on sentiment, Nvidia’s long-term growth story remains compelling."
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that US president Joe Biden's administration was planning to announce additional restrictions on exports of AI chips from the likes of Nvidia.
The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security, which deals with chip export controls, had not responded to Yahoo Finance UK's request for comment at the time of writing. A spokesperson for Nvidia also did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Wholesale retailer Costco posted net sales of $27.52bn (£22.4bn) for December, in figures released on Wednesday, which represented 10% growth on the $25.03bn it reported for the same period last year.
Sales were up 8% in the first 18 weeks of Costco's fiscal year, rising to $94.04bn, compared with $87.07bn last year.
Costco said growth in e-commerce sales was helped by Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday occurring a week later this year.
Adjusted earnings per share came in at $4.04, compared to Bloomberg consensus estimates of $3.81. Meanwhile, revenue of $62.15bn also beat expectations of $61.98bn.
"Our members are willing to spend as inflation comes down" as long as there's "newness of items, quality, and value," CFO Gary Millerchip said on its earnings call at the time.
Shares in eBay surged 10% in Wednesday's session after social media platform Meta (META) announced that it would test launch eBay listings on Facebook Marketplace.
Meta said that the test would be launched in the US, France and Germany.
The tech giant said that the announcement came after a decision by the European Commission, published in November, that claimed Facebook Marketplace had hindered competition for online marketplaces in Europe.
Meta said that while it disagreed with and continued to appeal the commission's decision, it was working to build a solution which addressed the points raised.
Despite posting strong Christmas results, shares in UK retailer M&S were down nearly 6% on Thursday morning, as stocks fell more broadly in the sector.
M&S said group sales were up 5.6% to £4.06bn ($4.98bn), with nearly 9% growth in food sales to £2.6bn.
However, M&S warned that as it entered a new year, the "outlook for economic growth, inflation and interest rates is uncertain and the business faces higher costs from well-documented increases in taxation".
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell (AJB.L), said that the "gloomy tone" of that outlook statement dragged on M&S shares.
"While understandable given the impact of the budget changes, sticky inflation and higher for longer rates, the comments chime with the current bleak mood around the UK’s economic prospects," he said.
A surge in UK government borrowing costs as bonds sell-off has sent the pound to a 14-month low (GBPUSD=X), prompting economist concerns that this could put pressure on chancellor Rachel Reeves to further increase taxes or cut public spending.
Downbeat sentiment in the sector also weighed on Tesco shares, dipping nearly 2% into the red, despite CEO Ken Murphy saying that the supermarket had delivered its "biggest ever Christmas".
Tesco posted 2.8% growth in like-for-like sales in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, and an increase of nearly 4% over the Christmas period.
The supermarket said it continued to expect to deliver retail adjusted operating profit for the 2024/25 financial year of around £2.9bn, in line with the upgraded guidance provided in its interim results.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "Tesco still rules the roost in the British aisles, following another robust trading period which included further gains in its market share to consolidate its dominant grocery position.
"Regardless of the fact that investors have given a cool reception to the update, the longstanding market consensus of the shares as a strong buy and the preferred play in the sector is unlikely to waver."
Other companies in the news on Thursday 9 January:
