Nvidia's blockbuster earnings, Fed minutes - what's moving markets

investing.com:

Investing.com -- Nvidia's revenue skyrockets above Wall Street projections in the fourth quarter, sending shares in the artificial intelligence chipmaking giant's soaring in extended trading. Elsewhere, minutes from the Federal Reserve's January meeting show that officials at the U.S. central bank were wary about cutting interest rates too soon.

1. Nvidia revenues top estimates as chipmaker hails AI «tipping point»

Shares in Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) jumped in U.S. after market trade on Wednesday, touching a new record high, after the chipmaker clocked stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter revenues and delivered a sales outlook for the current three-month period that was also above Wall Street estimates.

Chief Executive Jensen Huang, weighing in on the boom in artificial intelligence that has fueled a surge in the company's valuation over the past 12 months, said the nascent technology is at a «tipping point.»

«Demand is surging worldwide across companies, industries and nations,» he said.

Gains in Nvidia, which manufactures the graphics processors that help train AI systems, spilled into Asian semiconductor stocks.

Japanese semiconductor testing equipment maker — and Nvidia's biggest supplier — Advantest Corp. (TYO:6857) rose and was within sight of a record high. Taiwan’s TSMC (TW:2330), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker and a key Nvidia supplier, climbed close to an all-time high as well.

2. Futures higher after Nvidia reports

U.S. stock futures pointed to a positive opening in New York on Thursday, with investors hailing Nvidia's 256% spike in revenue and bullish outlook for AI demand.

By 03:11 ET (08:11 GMT), the futures contract for the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 had jumped by 317 points or 1.8%, while Dow futures had