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NOVEMBER 24, 2025 AT 01:39 PM

Newsquawk Daily US Equity Opening News - Trump mulls NVDA H200 chip sales to China; BABA rises as it relaunches Qwen

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SectionUS Equities

TODAY'S AGENDA:

US EQUITY NEWS:

TECH:

  • ALT5 Sigma (ALTS) - Told the SEC it suspended CEO Peter Tassiopoulos effective 16 October, though an internal 4 September email said he and CRO Vay Tham were put on leave amid a board probe, Forbes reports. Alt5 Sigma, World Liberty Financial and an entity linked to US President Trump were involved in large crypto transactions.
  • Apple (AAPL) - The report on Apple CEO Cook's imminent departure as CEO was premature, according to Bloomberg; the report adds that succession planning inside Apple has been underway for years and doesn't think a departure by the middle of next year is likely.
  • Lenovo (LNVGY) - Stockpiling memory and other key components as an “unprecedented” AI-driven supply squeeze raises costs. CFO Cheng said inventories are about 50% above normal as AI data-centre demand tightens supply, though Lenovo sees an opportunity to benefit from its component stockpile. Elsewhere, DigiTimes reports that Lenovo is said to be insulated from the current DRAM shortage thanks to its close relationship with Samsung (SSNLF) and its priority position in China’s supply chain, while other PC vendors—including senior Asus executives—are reportedly making direct trips to Samsung to secure memory allocations.
  • Micron (MU) - Denied reports that it is redesigning its HBM4 following claims it failed to meet Nvidia’s data-transfer demands, saying the product remains on track for a 2026 launch and that its planned production capacity for that year is already fully booked, DigiTimes reports.
  • NVIDIA (NVDA) - US is reviewing whether NVIDIA can sell its H200 AI chips to China as bilateral ties warm. The news follows a Trump–Xi truce, concerns from China hawks, and earlier approvals of Nvidia Blackwell chip shipments to Humain and G42.
  • NVIDIA (NVDA), Samsung (SSNLF) - NVIDIA is shifting to low-power LPDDR memory in its AI servers to improve energy efficiency, according to the DigiTimes; analysts cited say the change could make LPDDR a core semiconductor in the AI era, with Samsung positioned to benefit most. Separately, the publication reports that, according to analysts, Nvidia’s AI leadership appears secure for the next five years, despite market concerns.
  • SK Hynix (HXSCL) - Reportedly considering a potential memory ATMP facility in India, but its latest public investment announcement made no mention of such a plan, leaving the prospect uncertain, according to the DigiTimes.
  • Warner Bros. Discovery's (WBD) - Cos. CNN has removed its stories from Apple News (AAPL), ending its contract to share content on the news app, according to Semafor. Cos. continuing discussions for a new deal that would restore CNN's stories to Apple News.

FINANCIALS:

  • Citi (C), JPMorgan (JPM), Morgan Stanley (MS) - Several major banks, including JPM, C, and MS, are assessing a data breach at vendor SitusAMC that may have exposed sensitive residential mortgage information, the NYT reports. SitusAMC, which works with hundreds of lenders, notified law enforcement, and the FBI is investigating, but sees no operational impact to banking services.
  • Citigroup (C) - Citi’s wealth chief Andy Sieg said the equity bull market has more room to run as the bank attracts record inflows from wealthy clients. He noted there is no late-cycle exuberance, with investors not “throwing money at stocks.”
  • DBS Group (DBSDY) - Revised its proposal to acquire a stake in Alliance Bank Malaysia to 30% after withdrawing an earlier request to buy up to 49%, Bloomberg reports. The initial plan failed to secure central bank approval, as acquisitions above 30% generally require a waiver.
  • Julius Baer (JBAXY) - Booked a CHF 150mln loan-loss provision tied to property lending as it winds down non-core exposures. The bank said wealthy clients added CHF 11.7bln in net new money in the ten months to October, lifting assets under management 4% to CHF 520bln.
  • Pershing Square - Bill Ackman is preparing an IPO of Pershing Square Capital, which manages about USD 21bln, as early as Q1 ‘26, FT reports. He has informed some investors and begun talks with advisers about the potential early-2026 listing.
  • UBS Group (UBS) - A former Swiss minister, Christoph Blocher, said UBS is too risky for Switzerland to shoulder alone and should be split into a domestic unit and a US-focused one, Bloomberg reports. He said shareholders could receive a share in each entity and argued the state cannot bear the bank’s current risk.
  • AI Company Issuance - Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and Oracle have issued nearly USD 90bln of investment-grade bonds since early September to fund AI build-outs, more than in the prior 40 months, the WSJ reports. The surge has pressured markets as investors struggle to absorb the supply, the report adds.
  • China Bonds - Chinese local government financing vehicles are offering hidden extra returns on Hong Kong bond sales to bypass high official rates. LGFVs have used undisclosed fees and discounts to double yields, reflecting severe liquidity stress, Bloomberg reports.

CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY:

  • Alibaba (BABA) - Relaunched Qwen AI app surpassed 10mln downloads in its first week, boosting its effort to rival ChatGPT. Alibaba shares rose in Hong Kong after revealing the figures, following the unification of its iOS and Android AI apps under the Qwen brand.
  • Amazon (AMZN) - Italy's customs and tax Police raid two Amazon sites in a probe into smuggling of Chinese goods, according to Reuters sources. Italian police seized 5,000 "made in China" products in one of the Amazon raids.
  • JD.com (JD) - Cos. supply-chain technology unit Jingdong Industrials has begun gauging investor interest for a Hong Kong IPO that may raise about USD 500mln in the coming weeks, Bloomberg reports. Co. launched investor meetings after receiving regulatory approval in September, following an IPO filing made in March 2023.
  • Kohl's (KSS) - Plans to appoint interim CEO Michael Bender as permanent CEO after interviewing several candidates, Bloomberg reports. Bender, on the board since July 2019 and interim CEO since spring, is expected to take the role full-time.
  • Marriott (MAR) - Cautious mention in WSJ, which notes that its USD 15mln licensing deal with short-term rental firm Sonder to add 9,000 rooms proved disastrous as Sonder collapsed under high-cost leases; the arrangement, struck in August last year, aimed to blend apartment-style stays with hotel amenities but quickly deteriorated.
  • Stellantis (STLA) - May fully exit industrial automation firm Comau, handing full control to majority owner One Equity Partners, Corriere della Sera reports. One Equity bought most of Italy-based Comau last year, and Stellantis can sell its remaining 49.9% stake from 2027, with both sides holding options to trigger a deal.
  • Tesla (TSLA) - Close to taping out its AI5 chip and has begun work on AI6, CEO Elon Musk said on X. He said Tesla’s in-house AI chips, now at AI4 in cars, underpin its real-world AI lead, with a goal to launch new designs annually and ultimately produce more chips than all other AI suppliers combined.
  • Consumer Spending - Americans are spending heavily at year-end, with retailers such as Walmart (WMT), Gap (GAP) and TJX (TJX) reporting strong results as shoppers prioritise value, the WSJ notes. Despite tariff worries and a softer economy, consumers continue to buy where prices feel compelling, showing resilience at major chains.

HEALTHCARE:

  • AstraZeneca (AZN) - Announced a USD 2bln manufacturing investment in Maryland, expanding capacity in Frederick and Gaithersburg to speed production of oncology, rare and chronic disease medicines. Elsewhere, Harbour BioMed advanced its March 2025 collaboration with AstraZeneca, which focuses on next-gen biotherapeutics such as ADCs and T-cell engagers. AZN will nominate discovery programmes annually for four years and may license them. Harbour BioMed may receive option fees, milestones and tiered royalties under unchanged financial terms.
  • Bayer (BAYRY) - Said Phase III OCEANIC-STROKE trial of asundexian met primary efficacy and safety endpoints. Asundexian 50mg once daily reduced ischaemic stroke risk versus placebo, with no increase in ISTH major bleeding, in patients after non-cardioembolic ischaemic stroke or high-risk ischaemic attack, all on antiplatelet therapy.
  • EssilorLuxottica SA (ESLOY) - Preparing to buy a 5-10% stake in Giorgio Armani following the founder’s death, Il Sole 24 Ore reports; plans to acquire the stake without seeking an active role or board representation at Armani.
  • Merck (MRK) - Said the US FDA approved Keytruda and Keytruda Qlex with Padcev as neoadjuvant and then adjuvant therapy for adults with muscle-invasive bladder cancer who cannot receive cisplatin. The approvals mark the first PD-1 inhibitor plus ADC regimens for this group.
  • Novo Nordisk (NVO) - Said Evoke Phase III trials did not demonstrate a statistically significant reduction in Alzheimer's disease progression, nor superiority of Semaglutide vs placebo. 1-yr extension period in the evoke and evoke+ trials will be discontinued based on the efficacy results observed in the overall study population. While treatment with semaglutide resulted in improvement of Alzheimer’s disease-related biomarkers in both trials, this did not translate into a delay of disease progression.
  • Healthcare Insurers - President Trump criticised Obamacare insurers as “big, fat, rich” companies that have “made trillions,” urging Congress to redirect subsidies to patients instead, the WSJ reports. Republicans want to shift subsidies away from some of the frailest companies, highlighting a stark contrast between healthcare politics and investor sentiment.

MATERIALS:

  • Anglo American (NGLOY), BHP (BHP), Teck Resources (TECK) - Anglo American rejected BHP’s latest takeover proposal, deciding it was not superior to its planned combination with Teck Resources, Bloomberg reports. BHP had held prelim talks, but is no longer considering a combination and will focus on its existing portfolio.
  • Barrick Mining (B) - Close to agreeing with Mali’s government to resolve a two-year dispute that shut its Loulo-Gounkoto gold mine, Bloomberg reports. A deal would end a conflict that has weighed on Barrick for over a year.
  • IFF (IFF) - Introduced the Colibri smart dosing robot at its Chin Bee facility, enabling rapid on-demand production of fragrance sample batches in minutes and speeding fragrance development for customers across Greater Asia.
  • China Coal - Chinese coking coal futures fell for a fifth session on rising overseas supplies and seasonally weaker demand; Dalian futures are down about 15% in November, heading for their worst month since May.
  • China Copper - A key copper-pricing mechanism faces a major test as negotiations tighten amid high geopolitical tensions, limited metal supply and China’s dominance, Bloomberg reports. Rapid smelting-capacity growth has outpaced mined output, raising doubts over the benchmarking system where global terms follow deals struck between major miners and China’s smelters.
  • Gold, THB - Thailand’s central bank plans to tighten gold-trade reporting rules after rising bullion flows contributed to Baht volatility. Governor Ratanakorn said regulators want more detailed data to understand how cross-border settlements affect the currency.

INDUSTRIALS:

  • DHL (DHLGY) - DHL Supply Chain will invest EUR 130mln in a Riyadh logistics hub, betting on Saudi Arabia’s ambition to become a regional trade gateway, Bloomberg reports.
  • FedEx (FDX), UPS (UPS) - UPS and FedEx are seeking more freighters after the MD-11 was indefinitely grounded following a November 4th crash in which an engine detached and 14 people died, Bloomberg reports. The ban affects a key part of their air-cargo fleets during the peak holiday season and may extend beyond it, complicating peak-season operations. UPS has 26 MD-11s, about 9% of its fleet, and FedEx has 28 in service, about 4%.
  • Uber (UBER) - Has principally agreed to buy Getir Food from majority owner Mubadala, according to Reuters sources; waiting for Turkish approval of the sale.
  • European Airlines - Portugal has received three expressions of interest for a minority stake in state-owned airline TAP, according to Parpublica. While potential investors weren’t named, Air France-KLM (AFLYY), Lufthansa (DLAKY) and IAG (ICAGY) have publicly confirmed submitting letters of intent.

COMMUNICATIONS:

  • Meta Platforms (META) - Shut down internal research after finding causal evidence that Facebook harmed users’ mental health and allegedly hid risks from users, parents and authorities. Plaintiffs suing Meta, Google (GOOG), TikTok and Snapchat (SNAP) cite internal documents alleging ineffective youth safety features, growth prioritisation, and efforts to influence child-focused groups. In other news, US Senators Blumenthal and Hawley have called for a probe into scam advertisements on Meta platforms, via Reuters
  • Snap (SNAP) - Will comply with Australia’s Social Media Minimum Age Act by locking all Australian accounts of users under 16 from December 10th. Users must verify age via ConnectID, photo ID or facial age estimation. Under-16s cannot create or keep Snapchat accounts and are urged to download their data.
  • TV Networks, Comcast (CMCSA), Disney (DIS) - US President Trump said TV networks should not be allowed to expand, criticising ABC and NBC as “left-wing” outlets and calling them “illegal” campaigns for the “Radical Left”; Trump said they should be made smaller, not larger.

CONSUMER STAPLES:

  • Sysco (SYY) - Said COO Greg Bertrand will shift to a non-executive senior advisor role on January 1st, as a strategic advisor agreement lasting for at least nine months ahead of retirement.
  • US Foods (USFD) - Reaffirms FY25 outlook and 2025-2027 long-range plan; board approves USD 1bln share repurchase authorization
  • Walmart (WMT) - Opened its first Walmart-branded store in Africa at Clearwater Mall in Roodepoort, employing over 80 staff, just ahead of the holiday season. Walmart International’s Andrea Albright said the launch reflects a commitment to low total basket costs and stable pricing as the Walmart brand expands across South Africa.

ENERGY:

  • Tanker Rates - Oil tanker rates hit 5yr highs as buyers seek alternatives to sanctioned Russian crude amid rising Middle East and US supply, Bloomberg reports. VLCC rates from the Middle East to China surged to nearly USD 137k/day, +576% this year, while a broader VLCC index climbed to USD 116.4k/day. Russia’s Urals crude is being offered to Indian refiners at up to USD 7/bbl below Dated Brent for December–January deliveries after US sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil disrupted trade, marking the lowest price in about two years.

GEOPOLITICS:

  • Israel-Hezbollah - Israel said it had killed senior Hezbollah commander Haytham Ali Tabatabai in a strike on Beirut. PM Netanyahu said he approved the strike, describing Tabatabai as one of Hezbollah’s top three leaders and its chief of staff overseeing rearmament after last year’s conflict.
  • Japan-China - Japan reaffirmed plans to deploy missiles to its Yonaguni base near Taiwan, with Defence Minister Koizumi saying the move reduces the risk of attack and won’t heighten tensions.
  • Russia-Ukraine - President Trump said his 28-point Ukraine peace plan is “not final” after Kyiv, European governments and some Republicans criticised it as too favourable to Russia. He said he is open to changes but gave no specifics, adding that the aim is to achieve peace. Secretary of State Rubio also said President Trump’s November 27th deadline could slip into the following week; after “productive” Geneva talks, Rubio said more work is needed and any deal requires approval from Presidents Zelensky, Trump and Putin. Ukraine and European allies will tell the US they want a NATO-style Article 5 security guarantee and use of frozen Russian assets for reconstruction, rejecting Moscow’s demand that Kyiv cede unoccupied eastern territory; they say territorial discussions can occur only once fighting stops along the current contact line. On the weekend, National Security and Defence Council secretary Rustem Umerov said Ukraine will hold high-level talks in Switzerland with US officials in the coming days on possible parameters for a peace deal with Russia.
  • US-Venezuela - The US designated Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organisation effective November 24th, alleging it is being led by President Maduro. The move comes amid a major US military buildup and intensified operations targeting drug-trafficking groups in the Caribbean and Pacific. Separately, Brazil’s President Lula plans to call President Trump to voice concern over a US military buildup near Venezuela, warning it could destabilise South America.

MACRO:

  • China Property - UBS’s longtime China property bull John Lam now expects the sector’s slump to persist, forecasting at least two more years of falling home prices as buyers increasingly choose to rent while values decline.
  • UK Budget - The weekend has seen many press reports around the UK budget, due this week. CEOs are warning they may cut UK investment if the Chancellor's upcoming budget imposes further costs, with firms already under pressure after her previous budget raised National Insurance Contributions and the minimum wage. Elsewhere, reports suggest that the UK will cut energy bills by 25% for over 7,000 manufacturers from 2027 in a pre-budget effort to court business; the Business Secretary, Kyle, will outline the plan, aimed at sectors such as automotive, aerospace and chemicals, with a consultation on eligibility starting today. Meanwhile, the UK will freeze regulated rail fares in the upcoming budget to ease cost-of-living pressures and curb inflation; the freeze covers season tickets, peak commuter returns and off-peak intercity returns in England, which usually rise with inflation each March. On EVs, the UK will boost subsidies for EVs to offset a planned tax increase [on EVs] in the budget; Reeves plans to allocate GBP 1.3bln to expand grants that cut the upfront purchase cost of EVs by several thousand pounds. On pensions, FT reports that the UK plans a major restriction on salary-sacrifice pension schemes, aiming to raise GBP 3-4bln; the move is expected to increase national insurance paid on pension contributions and has drawn opposition from businesses and pension experts concerned about higher costs and reduced savings. Sky reports that the OBR will reportedly say that growth is lower in 2026 and every Parliament year in the Budget; Reeves will argue that government decisions are not responsible, and the Treasury hopes to surprise with bigger than expected headroom.

TRADE:

  • China Rare Earths - China’s Premier Li used the G-20 summit to defend rare-earth export curbs while offering reassurances to developing nations. Critical minerals dominated Africa’s first G-20 meeting as Europe faced supply-chain strains and Global South countries sought greater benefits from an industry where China leads processing.
  • UK Rare Earths - The UK plans to produce 10% of its critical minerals domestically and source 20% through recycling by 2035. PM Starmer outlined targets including 50,000 tonnes of UK lithium output and about GBP 50mln of government support for local firms to reduce reliance on global supply chains.
  • US Tariffs - Trump’s admin is preparing backup plans to swiftly reimpose tariffs if the Supreme Court overturns one of his key tariff powers, with officials working privately on alternatives to maintain the levies.
  • US-Canada - Canada PM Carney said the world can still make progress without the US, after Washington boycotted the G-20 summit in Johannesburg; South Africa issued a full declaration despite US objections, following President Trump’s claim of a supposed genocide against White Afrikaner farmers.
  • US-Switzerland - The US general tariff on Swiss imports could fall from 39% to 15% in early December after a preliminary agreement reached on November 14th, Reuters reports. Swiss Economy Minister Parmelin said detailed talks are imminent, and Switzerland may seek further exemptions beyond those already secured.

TRADING:

  • Stock Anxiety - Options markets signal rising anxiety that the stock rally may be ending, according to Bloomberg. The S&P 500 saw its widest weekly range since June, and NVIDIA’s (NVDA) strong results failed to reassure investors as concerns over an AI bubble persist, with other chipmakers struggling and Wall Street questioning the durability of AI spending, leaving the outlook for the AI trade uncertain. Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC) has fallen about a third from last month’s peak, and concerns are mounting over the pace of Fed cuts.
  • USDINR - The Indian rupee strengthened as the Reserve Bank of India stepped back in to defend the currency after its recent slump, Bloomberg reports.
  • USDJPY - Japanese economist Takuji Aida, who has served on government advisory panels, said that Japan is prepared to intervene more actively in currency markets to counter the effects of a weak JPY; he said PM Takaichi is concerned about inflation and Japan has ample foreign reserves to act.
Published: 11 / 24 / 2025 / 13:39Updated: 11 / 24 / 2025 / 13:39
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