In the United States, equity markets experienced a mixed week. The early part of the week saw equities pull back as Treasury yields and oil prices remained elevated, with mega-cap technology stocks being the hardest hit. Investors were also cautious ahead of NVIDIA’s earnings release on Wednesday evening. However, markets rebounded on Wednesday as oil prices fell by over 6% and yields declined following reports that the US and Iran had reached the final stages of a deal. Reports of a potential OpenAI IPO also boosted sentiment within the sector. Nevertheless, NVIDIA’s stellar earnings were not enough to push the stock higher, with shares instead falling falling 1.6% in after hours trading and dragging the wider sector lower on Thursday. However, for the week, the S&P 500 and NASDAQ closed 1.01% and 0.72.% higher respectively.
In earnings, the most significant earnings call of the season took place last Wednesday, with NVIDIA announcing its Q1 results. The world’s largest company, which also carries the largest weighting on the S&P 500, reported quarterly results that once again comfortably surpassed Wall Street estimates. Revenue for the quarter reached $81.62bn, well ahead of estimates of $78.86bn and representing growth of 85% compared to the same period in 2025. Sales continued to be dominated by data centre revenue, which totalled $75.24bn, meaning this segment alone accounted for more than 90% of the company’s total revenue. Within this figure, hyperscale revenue — referring to sales to companies such as Amazon and Meta — represented more than 50% of sales, highlighting both the importance of these major clients to NVIDIA and the continued demand for its chips. The company also generated record free cash flow of $48.6bn, which likely contributed to the announcement of an $80bn share buyback programme. NVIDIA also announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from one cent to 25 cents, which will significantly benefit major shareholders.
In corporate developments, last week saw one of the most significant mergers in US corporate history, as NextEra Energy agreed to merge with Dominion Energy to create an energy giant valued at approximately $420bn. The deal would represent the fourth-largest merger in US history and comes as demand for power reaches generational highs due to the continued expansion of data centres and artificial intelligence infrastructure. NextEra Energy is currently the largest power provider in both the US and globally, operating across all 50 US states with an enterprise value of approximately $300bn. This deal would significantly increase its presence in the south-east of the country, particularly in Florida, where it serves six million people, while Dominion serves more than three million customers. Dominion Energy, which has a market capitalisation of just under $60bn, is primarily concentrated in the eastern United States, particularly around Virginia. This is especially important as Virginia has become known as “Data Center Alley”, with the state currently hosting the largest number of data centre facilities in the US. There are currently 665 facilities online, with a further 136 centres under construction — almost 200 more than the next-highest state, Texas. As a result, Dominion’s position as the largest energy supplier in the state makes the company critical to the continued expansion of data centres across the region. In terms of energy demand, the emergence of hyperscale data centres is expected to drive substantial increases in US electricity consumption over the coming years.
In the technology sector, AMD, one of NVIDIA’s key challengers, announced last week that it would invest $10bn in Taiwan’s AI sector. The investment will be spread across companies operating in the power-efficiency space, as well as smaller-scale chip manufacturers on the island. Elsewhere, Google unveiled a new line of smart glasses as it prepares to compete more aggressively with rivals such as Anthropic, Meta and OpenAI. The glasses will directly compete with Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses, which feature AI integration alongside a built-in camera and speakers. The product has been developed in partnership with Samsung, Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. The company also announced autonomous AI agents that will be integrated into its Google Search engine under the name “Spark”. The platform is designed to act as a personal AI assistant capable of automating tasks for users and reducing general administrative workloads.
In Europe, markets began the week lower on the back of rising oil prices before rebounding strongly on Wednesday. As Europe remains reliant on oil imports from the Middle East, reports that the US and Iran were close to reaching a deal boosted investor sentiment, with the Eurostoxx50 rising by 3% on Friday alone. For the week, the Euro Stoxx 50 and STOXX 600 both closed higher, gaining 4.54% and 3.91% respectively.
In corporate developments, Mistral, Europe’s largest AI-based start-up, announced last week that it had acquired another European AI company, Emmi AI, based in Vienna. Emmi AI develops AI models focused on physics-based applications such as airflow, heat transfer and material stress analysis, all of which have practical uses within the industrial sector. Mistral’s acquisition therefore brings the company closer to its European client base, which forms a core part of its strategy of serving businesses across Europe. In particular, the deal will enable the French-based AI company to further develop tools for engineering and manufacturing — two sectors that remain critical to the European economy.
In the United Kingdom, The FTSE 100 rose last week as both domestic and international developments helped lift the index. Domestically, UK inflation came in below expectations, while internationally, hopes of an end to the conflict in the Middle East improved market sentiment. Although markets declined on Thursday following weak manufacturing PMI data, concerns surrounding the Iranian conflict, and ongoing domestic political uncertainty, the FTSE 100 still closed the week 2.98% higher on the back of ceasefire hopes.
In corporate developments, Anglo American, one of the largest mining companies listed on the FTSE 100, announced that it had agreed to sell its Australian coal mining operations for $3.88bn to Dhilmar, a privately owned London-based firm. The sale forms part of a broader restructuring programme at Anglo American, as the company prepares to combine with leading Canadian mining company, Teck Resources to create one of the world’s largest copper mining businesses. Following the coal deal, only its diamond business, the renowned De Beers brand, remains under Anglo American’s control. However, there are reportedly plans to sell a significant portion of this business to a consortium.
