Showdown Night Recap: NVIDIA's Impressive Earnings Inject Market with Confidence, Fed Minutes Show Increased Division Casting Doubt on December Rate Cut


November 20th. This morning, Nvidia (NVDA.O) announced its Q3 revenue for the fiscal year 2026 of $57 billion, compared to $35.082 billion in the same period last year, with the market expecting $54.923 billion. It is also projected that Q4 revenue for the fiscal year 2026 will be $65 billion, with the market expectation at $61.6 billion. The chip sales growth rate at the core of the artificial intelligence boom exceeded Wall Street's expectations, and the strong quarterly revenue forecast has led investors to believe that the AI investment frenzy will continue. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang stated, "I haven't seen an AI bubble." The market rebounded after Nvidia's financial report was released, with Bitcoin rising to $91,500, Ethereum rising to $3,000, Nvidia's stock surging over 5% in after-hours trading, and Nasdaq futures up 1% on Thursday.Additionally, the Federal Reserve released the minutes of its October meeting this morning, revealing a divergence among policymakers on whether to cut interest rates in December. Some participants opposed a rate cut, intensifying the internal divisions within the Fed. The expectation for a rate cut in December has significantly cooled, as there were no key data references available before the meeting, leading the market to estimate the probability of a December rate cut dropping to 31.6%.The minutes showed: "Many participants favored lowering the target range for the federal funds rate," but at the same time, it was noted that some members who supported a rate cut also found maintaining the rate unchanged acceptable. Several officials directly opposed a rate cut, expressing concerns about the committee's progress toward achieving the 2% inflation target being stalled and suggesting that if inflation did not return to 2% promptly, long-term inflation expectations might rise. A majority of participants indicated that further lowering the policy rate could exacerbate the risk of sustained high inflation or be misinterpreted by the market as a lack of determination by policymakers to achieve the 2% inflation target. These minutes reflect officials' efforts to seek consensus in the absence of key data: balancing the dual risks of rising inflation and a weak job market, and warning that a "sharp reassessment" of AI investment by the market could lead to "disorderly stock market declines."