Nvidia, AMD and Intel stocks rally despite hot CPI: what changed overnight?

Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Intel stocks rose in Wednesday’s pre-market trading as stronger-than-expected results from CoreWeave revived confidence in artificial intelligence spending despite a hotter US inflation report.

Nvidia gained around 2.48%, AMD climbed more than 5% and Intel advanced over 4% in indicative early trading. Nasdaq 100 futures were up about 1.4% in an earlier snapshot.

The rebound followed Tuesday’s technology sell-off, when Nvidia lost roughly 5.5% as investors worried about higher interest rates and uncertainty surrounding chief executive Jensen Huang.

CoreWeave earnings puts AI demand back in focus

CoreWeave reported third-quarter revenue of $3.66 billion, up 168% from a year earlier, and lifted its 2026 sales forecast to $13 billion–$13.3 billion.

The Nvidia-backed cloud provider’s contracted revenue backlog climbed to $132.5 billion from roughly $104 billion at the end of June. Adjusted operating income reached $379 million.

The results matter because CoreWeave buys advanced computing equipment and rents capacity to AI developers. Stronger service demand supports expectations that data-centre operators will continue investing in processors, networking and memory.

Jamie Hannah, deputy head of investments at VanEck, said the results had reassured investors who were anxious about whether AI infrastructure spending could maintain its momentum.

Nvidia leads a wider semiconductor rebound

Nvidia is most directly exposed to the improvement in CoreWeave’s outlook because its graphics processors power much of the cloud company’s infrastructure.

AMD stands to benefit from broader appetite for AI accelerators and server processors, while Intel has exposure to server chips and other computing hardware.

The rally also followed heavy selling, as Nvidia had slumped on Tuesday after scrutiny of a board investigation involving Huang added to pressure from inflation and technology valuations.

The company has said it has no reason to believe secrets or national security were compromised.

Asian semiconductor markets also recovered, helping lift South Korean and Taiwanese shares.

The advance suggests traders are reconsidering how much of the recent sell-off reflected weaker underlying demand rather than worries about financing.

Hot inflation keeps the financing problem alive

US consumer prices increased 0.4% in October, above forecasts of 0.3%, while core inflation rose 0.3% against expectations of 0.2%.

The figures reinforced expectations of a December Federal Reserve rate increase.

Jeff Schulze of Franklin Templeton Institute told CNBC that higher yields and a firmer dollar would pressure risk assets as traders considered the possibility of a larger hike.

That matters for AI infrastructure companies funding massive construction programmes through borrowing.

CoreWeave’s quarterly net loss widened to $709 million, with net interest expense reaching $846 million against $207 million in operating income. It expects capital expenditure of $37 billion–$39 billion this year.

Gil Luria of D.A. Davidson told Bloomberg that demand for computing capacity remained healthy but raising enough capital to support further expansion could prove difficult.