U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testifies before a House Financial Services Committee hearing on “The Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress,” on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 12, 2025.
- Stock futures were higher ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision.
- Nvidia debuted its latest AI chips at its annual GTC conference.
- Google has agreed to buy cloud security startup Wiz in a $32 billion, all-cash deal.
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WATCH HEREHere are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
1. Streak snapped
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Stocks broke their two-day win streak Tuesday as all three major averages resumed their sell-off in full force. The S&P 500 shed 1.07%, putting the broad market index down 8.6% from its record close in February and back near correction territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 260.32 points, or 0.62%, while the Nasdaq Composite — which is still in a correction — dropped 1.71%. Amid continued market volatility, the UCLA Anderson Forecast on Tuesday issued its first-ever "recession watch," citing the effect of President Donald Trump's policies. Follow live market updates.
2. GPNew
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced the company's new AI chips Tuesday, debuting the Blackwell Ultra chip family and its next-generation graphics processing unit (GPU) named Vera Rubin. Huang detailed the chipmaker's latest products at Nvidia's highly anticipated annual GTC conference, where the company also announced a strategic collaboration with General Motors. As part of the deal, the automaker will use Nvidia's AI products in its next-generation vehicles, driver-assistance systems and factories.
3. Ceasefire talks
President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to an "immediate Ceasefire on all Energy and Infrastructure" in the war in Ukraine on Tuesday, following an at least 90-minute phone call between the two leaders. In its own readout of the call, the Kremlin said Putin agreed on Russia and Ukraine not attacking each other's energy infrastructure for 30 days. Trump announced the narrow ceasefire in a post on Truth Social, writing "we will be working quickly to have a Complete Ceasefire and, ultimately, an END to this very horrible War between Russia and Ukraine."
4. Gee Wiz!
Google announced on Tuesday that it agreed to buy cloud security startup Wiz in a $32 billion, all-cash deal. The deal — Google's largest ever — is nearly $10 billion more than Google's last acquisition offer that Wiz walked away from in July, when it said it would instead pursue an IPO. Antitrust concerns were part of the reason Wiz turned down the original offer, according to a source familiar with the matter. The new deal will be a "great litmus test and bellwether for M&A in 2025", West Monroe's Brad Haller said, as tech companies express hope that Trump's return to the White House will open the door for larger acquisitions.
Money Report
5. Fedspectations
With Federal Reserve officials expected to hold interest rates steady on Wednesday, investors will be watching what the central bank has to say on the economy and the future path for interest rates. "There's no chance of a cut Wednesday, so all the other stuff becomes more important," Dan North, senior economist at Allianz Trade North America, said. Amid uncertainty around President Trump's fiscal and trade policies, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a speech earlier this month that the Fed does "not need to be in a hurry" and is "well positioned to wait for greater clarity."
— CNBC's Sean Conlon, Alex Harring, Pia Singh, Steve Liesman, Kif Leswing, Michael Wayland, Lora Kolodny, Holly Ellyatt, Kevin Breuninger, Samantha Subin, Ari Levy, Jennifer Elias and Jeff Cox contributed to this report.
