Nvidia Slips From Record as Wall Street Awaits Key Results

(Bloomberg) -- Nvidia Corp. shares fell on Tuesday, erasing an initial gain that took the chipmaker to an intraday record a day before its highly anticipated earnings report.

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Shares opened higher and climbed as much as 2.6% to hit an all-time intraday high of $481.87, the latest sign of investor optimism ahead of the results. However, they turned lower and ended the session down 2.8%. The Nasdaq 100 Index fell 0.2%.

Still, the stock remains 12% higher from a low hit earlier this month, and has surged 212% this year, making it by far the biggest gainer among constituents of the S&P 500 Index. The Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index is up 39% in 2023.

In a sign of how significant Wednesday’s report will be, the options market is bracing for a move of 9.8% following the results. With Nvidia accounting for nearly 3.1% of the S&P 500, the stock’s move will have broader implications.

Of the ten largest companies in the S&P 500, Nvidia is the only stock for which the price of call options — which are desirable if the stock goes up — is higher than put options, according to data from Nations Indexes.

“It tells me that people are still scrambling to buy calls in Nvidia,” said Scott Nations, president of Nations Indexes. “They still want upside much more than they’re worried about downside protection. That is an outlier in the biggest names in the S&P.”

The stock’s 2023 rally reflects optimism over artificial intelligence, which Nvidia is a key player in, and the Tuesday record is the latest example of how investors have been piling into the stock ahead of second-quarter results due after the market closes on Wednesday.