What’s News in Markets: Nvidia’s Victory Lap, Callaway Lands in the Rough, Sneaker Slump

Hey, listeners. It's Saturday, August 29th. I'm Imani Moise for The Wall Street Journal. And this is what's news in markets. Our look at the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them. Let's dive in. Investors came into the week worrying about everything from the sustainability of the AI boom to oil prices and inflation. And on Friday, Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Walsh gave markets something new to chew at the Kansas City Fed's annual conference. In his first Jackson Hole speech as chair, Walsh said inflation remains too high and signaled the central bank may not be finished raising interest rates. We must be confident that underlying inflation is moving to our objective clearly and at sufficient speed. Otherwise, we have work to do. Short-term Treasury yields jumped and major indexes slipped on Friday. After his remarks, still, Walsh offered a relatively upbeat assessment of the economy. I'm impressed by the overall performance of the economy, which appears to have strengthened. One indicator of strength is how well an economy holds up under stress, how well it holds up under shocks. On that score, both Main Street and Wall Street have been remarkably resilient. Overall, the Nasdaq ended the week 0.85 percent higher. The S&P 500 was the highest in the past year. The S&P 500 gained 0.49 percent, and the Dow added 0.53 percent. NVIDIA has broken its post-earnings curse. Before this week, the chip giant's shares had fallen the day after six of its previous eight earnings reports, as investors grew accustomed to quarter after quarter of blockbuster results. This time was different. NVIDIA shares surged 8.7 percent Thursday, their biggest one-day jump in more than a year. After the company said it expects revenue to grow 70 percent in its next fiscal year, far above the roughly 45 percent analysts had been forecasting. CEO Jensen Huang said demand is actually even stronger than that. The biggest thing holding NVIDIA back right now is getting enough chips and components to meet it. Overall, NVIDIA shares ended the week 1.3 percent higher, lifting the market value of the world's most valuable company to $5.5 trillion. But NVIDIA's victory lap? NVIDIA's victory lap? doesn't mean questions about the durability of the AI boom have disappeared. The company is increasingly using its own balance sheet to help customers pay for the massive data center build-out needed to buy its chips. That strategy could help keep sales booming for now. But it also leaves NVIDIA more exposed if AI demand eventually slows. As Granite Shares CEO Ro Rein told the Journal this week, the bigger questions now are about the broader AI narrative. "I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to get the money I want to buy the chips I want to buy, but I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to get the money I want to buy the chips I want to buy." "I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to get the money I want to buy the chips I want to buy the chips I want to buy." Callaway Golf learned a pretty basic business lesson this week. Try not to alienate your fastest-growing customer base. The golf equipment maker found itself apologizing for an ad that showed a male golfer shoving a woman to the ground. "Do not touch my new driver." The video was produced by privately held media company Good Good Golf to promote a co-branded Callaway Golf Club. It racked up more than 5 million views on X, and plenty of backlash. Both companies eventually apologized, with Callaway's CEO saying the ad's approval "should never have happened." Recently, Callaway posted a strong quarter. But Syracuse University sports analytics professor Justin Erlich told our colleagues at MarketWatch that the company's ability to attract new golfers, especially women, "may be compromised." This week, the stock shares fell 2 percent Tuesday as a controversy unfolded, and ended the week about 1.3 percent lower. And one of the worst-performing stocks in the Dow this week was Nike. Not because of anything the sneaker maker did, but because of something a competitor said. Dick's Sporting Goods shares plunged more than 30 percent Tuesday, the stock's biggest one-day drop on record, after the retailer cut its annual profit outlook. The company's executive chairman, Ed Stack, said the sneaker industry's success was a sign that the sneaker industry is carrying too much inventory. Brands have been offering bigger discounts to move shoes off the shelves, and those promotions are spilling into the broader market. Stack expects the pressure to continue through the rest of this year. That's bad news for the athletic wear industry, and especially Nike, which had already cut its outlook in June, citing weaker demand and heavier discounting. Nike and Dick's Sporting Goods fell 2.9 percent and 26 percent, respectively. That extended into other sports retailers. On-running fell nearly 4 percent this week, while Under Armour has lost more than 6 percent. And now you know what's news in markets this week. You can read about more stocks that moved on the week's news in our live markets coverage on WSJ.com. Today's show was produced by Anthony Bansi with supervising producer Melanie Roy. I'm Imani Moise. Have a great weekend and see you next Saturday. Thanks for watching!