Shares in Nvidia (NVDA) slid 8.7% on Monday to their lowest closing price since last September amid reports of the tech giant's artificial intelligence (AI) chips reaching China despite export controls.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that Nvidia's (NVDA) Blackwell chips were reaching China through third-party resellers using entities registered in nearby regions in violation of export controls.
That report was followed by news that Singapore is probing Nvidia’s customers Dell (DELL) and Super Micro Computer (SMCI) — companies that make servers using Blackwell GPUs (graphics processing units) — for potentially violating US export restrictions in shipping servers that may contain Nvidia (NVDA) chips from Singapore to Malaysia. Authorities are investigating whether the servers then made their way to other countries.
"Anonymous traders cannot acquire, deliver, install, use, and maintain Blackwell products in unauthorized countries," an Nvidia (NVDA) spokesperson told Yahoo Finance in a statement. "We will continue to investigate every report of possible diversion and take appropriate action."
Shares in Nvidia (NVDA) were also down amid concerns around the impact of trade tariffs, as US president Donald Trump confirmed duties on Mexico and Canada would come into effect on Tuesday.
Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.L), said the fall in Nvidia (NVDA) shares was "driven by fears of further export restrictions to territories including China. But Chinese sales aren’t as big a part of the picture as they once were at around 13% of the group total. Nearly half of sales now originate in the US. Nvidia (NVDA) and volatility tend to walk hand in hand these days, but the long-term outlook still looks very strong."
In a statement released on Tuesday, TSMC said that the expansion of its investment in the US includes plans for three new fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities and a major research and development team centre.
The chipmaker said this was expected to support 40,000 construction jobs over the next four years and create tens of thousands of jobs in chip manufacturing and research and development.
Wei said: "AI is reshaping our daily lives and semiconductor technology is the foundation for new capabilities and applications."
Musk, a key adviser to US president Donald Trump, has made several high-profile interventions in European politics, including backing the far-right AfD party in the recent federal elections in Germany. In the US, demonstrators have been gathering outside Tesla (TSLA) showrooms to protest against Musk's advocacy for making spending cuts to government agencies, in his role leading the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Meanwhile, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) labor union is urging asset management firms to reconsider Tesla's (TSLA) valuation, highlighting particular concerns tied to potential risks for teacher pension funds, which have millions invested in the EV maker.
The world's largest oil company, Saudi Arabian Oil Co (Aramco), posted a 12% fall in profits in 2024 and slashed its dividend, which is the world's biggest payout.
Aramco shares were down 2% after the company released its full-year results on Tuesday, in which it said net income fell to $106.2bn (£83.5bn), down from $121.3bn in 2023.
The oil giant said it expected to declare total dividends of $85.4bn in 2025, which would be down from $124.2bn this past year.
The drop in profits comes as oil prices have continued to fall amid concerns around weaker demand, with nervousness around the impact of trade tariffs on the global economy adding to these fears.
Oil prices sank to their lowest point of the year on Tuesday, hit by concerns over tariffs. The market was further weighed down by news that OPEC+ will proceed with a planned production increase in April. The group intends to unwind previous output cuts, raising supply by 138,000 barrels per day.
Shares in Greggs (GRG.L) dropped 11% on Tuesday, after the UK bakery chain reported a further slowdown in sales at the start of the year.
In its preliminary full-year results on Tuesday, Greggs (GRG.L) said that like-for-like sales increased 1.7% in the first nine weeks of 2025, slowing from 2.5% in the fourth quarter. The food-on-the-go retailer cited challenging weather conditions in January but said trading had improved in February.
Greggs' (GRG.L) total sales for 2024 topped £2bn ($2.5bn) for the first time, while pre-tax profit was up 8% to £203.9m. The company recommended a total ordinary dividend of 69p per share for the year, an increase of 11% on the 62p payout it declared last year.
Looking ahead, Greggs (GRG.L) CEO Rosie Currie said that the "macroeconomic landscape remains tough".
"Inflation remains elevated, and many of our customers continue to worry about the cost of living," she said. "After years of financial anxiety, they are still facing concerns about energy prices and increased mortgage and rent costs."
She also warned that the rise in employment taxes would "significantly" increase the company's wage bill and said that Greggs (GRG.L) would recover this cost inflation through "careful pricing activity, which we strive to keep to an absolute minimum to ensure that we protect our reputation for offering great value." A number of UK businesses have warned of higher employment costs on the back of increases to employer national insurance contributions and the national minimum wage, announced in the autumn budget.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell (AJB.L), said: "Greggs (GRG.L) is doing everything it can to stay on top, such as through further menu innovation. There is a danger that Greggs (GRG.L) is moving too far away from the products that drove its success, namely sausage rolls and Belgian buns.
“Burgers, pizzas and chicken goujons make Greggs (GRG.L) more of a direct rival to kebab shops that are 10 a penny across the country," he said. "Domino’s Pizza dom.l (DOM.L) is also pushing hard on lunchtime wraps meaning the food on the go market is becoming dangerously crowded."
“Shoppers want good value for money in the current economic climate and Greggs (GRG.L) might find its products are pushing above the price point at which people don’t blink to buy," Mould added.
