The FTSE 100 was swept higher on Thursday by a wave of optimism after US chipmaker NVIDIA smashed earnings estimates.

The FTSE 100 was 0.25% higher at the time of writing.

NVIDIA’s earnings almost had a binary outcome for risk assets; miss expectations and risk a sell-off in global equities, beat estimates and send stocks higher, as we have seen today. 

“Better than expected quarterly earnings from Nvidia have significant implications for global markets,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

“The chip specialist has been one of ‘The Magnificent Seven’ stocks driving US markets this year, with its shares up 243% since the start of 2023. It’s been one of the market superstars and given investors hope that it is still possible to make good money from equities in an environment where interest rates continue to go up and inflation remains sticky in places.

“Any disappointment in its latest results would have gone down like a lead balloon. It could have hurt investor sentiment and caused contagion elsewhere in the markets. Fortunately, it’s pulled another rabbit out of the hat and given investors everything they wanted and more.

“This appears to have sprinkled some magic dust on the markets and provided new impetus to share prices. The rest of the Magnificent Seven (Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft and Tesla) all saw their shares rise in after-hours trading following Nvidia’s results, and on European markets we’ve seen tech-related stocks such as ASML and Scottish Mortgage move higher.”

The UK Investor Magazine included the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust in ‘Three Investment Trusts primed to explode higher’ published in July due to the trust’s propensity to rally in a general risk-on move.

The Jackson Hole central bank event will be closely watched going into the weekend for any indication of a change in the trajectory of interest rates. 

The subtleties of central banker’s language can have a profound impact on global equities and the ongoing event in the US could set the tone for trade in the near term.

Quadrise shares sank on Thursday after the company said emulsion fuel and biofuel trials in Morocco are facing more delays due to mechanical problems at the project.

Quadrise shares were down 32% at the time of writing.

Hopes of successful fuel testing were dashed as Quadrise encountered further setbacks with its ongoing trial in Morocco. After returning to the site to restart testing, the company managed to achieve combustion at full load. However, fuel pumps began to decline in performance, preventing full load testing.

The problems continued as a replacement pump exhibited similar issues when operating at high pressure, indicating a fundamental design flaw. The trial is now expected to finish in September as opposed to June.

While certainly disappointing given the previous setbacks, Quadrise remains committed to resolving the pump problem and completing the trial. The company is working quickly to ship an alternative pump design to overcome this latest hurdle.

Despite the delays and difficulties, Quadrise still aims to persevere and successfully finish testing.

Jason Miles, CEO of Quadrise commented:

“The design issues experienced with the pumps to date were not foreseeable and are very frustrating for all concerned. We remain highly confident that once the trial resumes following the installation of an alternative pump, we will be able to demonstrate the benefits of MSAR® and bioMSAR™ in the commercial trial for our supportive client.”

Tekcapital’s autonomous vehicle subsidiary Guident made significant advances over the past year, upgrading its core remote monitoring and control technology, securing patents, collaborating with major companies, and increasing its industry presence.

Key milestones include enhancements to its Remote Monitor and Control Centre, a patent for AI-enabled remote monitoring, partnerships with Jacksonville Transportation Authority and a tire manufacturer, an award from Space Florida, and participation in high-profile industry events. Guident is transitioning from proof-of-concept to commercial deployment of its technology.

Tekcapital shares had gained 2% shortly after the release on Thursday.

A key achievement was enhancements to its Remote Monitor and Control Centre (RMCC), including an improved interface, fault tolerance upgrades, and integration with steering wheels. This positions Guident for customer testing this year and inaugural commercial deployment at the Boca Raton Innovation Campus.

Guident also secured a patent for AI-enabled remote monitoring, providing intellectual property protection. Additionally, the company partnered with major players like Jacksonville Transportation Authority and a tier-1 tire manufacturer. Although Tekcapital did not name the tire company, the testing demonstrates the value of its technology and potential market opportunity.

Other notable developments were a grant from Space Florida to develop satellite-connected RMCC, and participation in high-profile industry events like CES and Mobile World Congress to showcase its vision.

With its technology advancing steadily and a growing industry presence, Guident is making the transition from proof-of-concept to real-world commercial deployment.

The annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium has moved markets in previous years and investors will be eagerly awaiting this year’s central bank festival for hints of possible monetary policy shifts later in the year.

The FTSE 100 was 0.70% higher at 7,320 shortly before the close on Wednesday as a wave of optimism sent global stocks north.

“The FTSE 100 made steady progress on Wednesday as investors await the start of potentially the driest shindig in the world, with central bankers due to meet at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium from tomorrow,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

“While fun might not be on the agenda – interest rates and inflation definitely are – the chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, will take centre stage when he delivers his speech on Friday.

“His words could help set the tone for stocks heading into the autumn after recent fears the strength of the US economy could lift the lid once again on inflationary pressures and necessitate higher rates for longer.”

Markets are now pricing interest cuts from mid-2024 after repricing cuts to begin this year. Should the markets again reprice interest cuts further into the future as a result of tomorrow’s event, one would expect volatility in equity markets.

NVIDIA

US indices have been supported by a concentration of 8 US tech stocks this year and one of the best performers, NVIDIA will report later today.

The company has surged due to AI-induced demand for their chip processors and tonight’s results promise to be a rollercoaster, not only for NVIDIA shares but the entire equity market.

“Another big driver of sentiment is likely to be provided tonight when chipmaker Nvidia reports earnings,” Russ Mould said.

“A lot is riding on these numbers, with the shares surging to fresh record highs ahead of their release. Given much of the gains made by equities in 2023 have been centred on Nvidia and the whole AI story, they are likely to have a significant impact on the wider market too.”

Cohort, the AIM-listed independent technology group, has won a £17.5 million contract through its subsidiary Systems Engineering & Assessment Limited (SEA). The 32-month deal is with a UK customer to supply an External Communications System (ECS) for a major defence programme.

The ECS will enable real-time data exchange, information sharing, and coordination between systems. This will substantially improve the overall mission effectiveness, according to Cohort.

“This contract is another significant win for SEA and will deliver essential communications capability to our customer’s programme. It builds upon SEA’s long-standing reputation and record of successful performance in this technology area,” said Andy Thomis, Cohort Chief Executive.

“Together with other recent wins across the Group, this contract further underpins our order book and enhances the visibility of future revenues.”

Cohort also released their annual report for 2022/23 on Wednesday in which revenue rose 33% to £182m.

Bluejay Mining has raised £600,000 through a placing to advance exploration at its Hammaslahti copper-zinc-silver-gold project in Finland, the company announced Wednesday.

The AIM and FSE listed firm issued 60 million new shares at 1p per share to new investors in the fundraising round, sole-led by CMC Markets.

Bluejay Mining shares were down 17% to 0.96p at the time of writing.

The funds will primarily focus on delivering a maiden mineral resource estimate at Hammaslahti, where recent drilling intersected encouraging sulphide mineralization across all holes on the East lode ore body. Further drilling down-plunge and near-surface is planned to expand resources ahead of the estimate. Assays from the latest round of summer drilling are expected in early September.

According to management, Hammaslahti offers strong potential for near-term value creation. The private placement also provides working capital for planning at Bluejay’s zinc-lead-silver project in Greenland, while talks continue with prospective US and Nordic strategic partners interested in its portfolio of base metals projects in Finland and Greenland.

Exploration results so far at Hammaslahti have increased interest from potential partners, though no binding agreements are guaranteed, Bluejay stated.

The company said they were in discussions with five strategic investors with technical expertise to help progress their exploration activities.

The £600,000 placement comes after Bluejay raised £1 million in June through an oversubscribed share placing, also sole-led by CMC Markets. The junior explorer says its projects have continued to attract investor interest despite market volatility.

“We are grateful to receive funds for the further development of the portfolio, and welcome new investors in the Company who are excited to get involved with the new Bluejay story,” said Robert Edwards, Executive Chairman of Bluejay.

“The immediate use of these funds will position us for a productive and pivotal second half of 2023, and what we believe could be a transformational 2024. We have attempted to highlight the hidden value within our portfolio of energy transition focussed base metals assets.

‘First of all, we are awaiting the final assay results from our recent drilling campaign at Hammaslahti. Thereafter, we are aiming to develop a maiden mineral resource estimate for H2 2023 which encompasses recent drilling as well as some historical holes, notably the E-lode discovery hole (hole id. M424114-R325) which returned 8.65 metres (“m”) grading 2.2% copper (“Cu”), 2.0% zinc (“Zn”), 0.5 % lead, 47.5 g/t silver (“Ag”), and 0.5 g/t gold (“Au”), including 5.60m grading 3.2% Cu, 3.2% Zn, 81.1 g/t Ag, and 0.9 g/t Au.”