① The US initially requested data and revised GDP values were better than expected; ② Google researchers released the first AI game engine; ③ Tesla allegedly asked Canada to lower tariffs on Chinese-made Tesla; ④ Toyota closed its Japanese factory due to the typhoon until Friday.
Financial Services Association, August 29 (Editor Zhao Hao) Before the US stock market on Thursday (August 29), the latest US initial request data and revised GDP values were stronger than expected, and futures for the three major indices extended gains.
As of press release, Dow Jones futures were up 0.63%, S&P 500 futures were up 0.29%, and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.30%.
According to specific data, the number of first-time jobless claims in the US recorded 0.231 million last week, lower than market expectations of 0.232 million and 0.233 million as revised in the previous week; the number of consecutive jobless claims recorded 1.868 million, which is also lower than market expectations, or lessens concerns about the recession.
The revised value of US real GDP for the second quarter, which was announced at the same time, rose 3% month-on-month, and the market originally thought it would remain at 2.8% of the initial value; if traditional year-on-year growth rates were used, the year-on-year growth rate of US Q2 GDP remained at 3.1%, in line with the initial value, and similar to the previous three quarters.
The report also showed that the annual month-on-month increase of the Federal Reserve's most popular inflation index, the Q2 core PCE price index, was revised down from 2.9% to 2.8%; the year-on-year increase was lowered from 2.7% to 2.6%. It is worth mentioning that the monthly version of this data will be released before the US stock market on Friday.
In terms of individual stocks, Nvidia, which failed to satisfy all analysts, fell more than 3%, and previously fell more than 8%; Apple rose 1.6%, and Citi ranked it as the best AI stock investment choice in 2025; discount chain Dale drastically lowered its profit forecast for the whole year, and the stock price plummeted 25%.
The European stock market, which is currently being traded, had mixed ups and downs. The German DAX30 index is now up 0.69%, which once reached a record high in the intraday period; the British FTSE 100 index rose 0.48%, and the French CAC40 index rose 0.85%.
Company news
[Nvidia CEO Huang Renxun: Blackwell chips have begun mass production and will be able to increase supply]
Speaking about concerns about the company's Blackwell chips, Nvidia CEO Wong In-hoon said, “We will have a lot, much supply, and we will be able to increase supply.” He said in an interview with the media on Wednesday. Samples of the chip have been released “all over the world today,” and the company has already begun mass production.
[Indian IT giant Infosys expands cooperation with Nvidia]
Indian IT giant Infosys (Infosys) announced on August 29 the expansion of cooperation with Nvidia to jointly develop artificial intelligence-driven, customer-centric solutions. The cooperation between the two will help telecom companies enhance customer experience, simplify network operations, and speed up service delivery.
[People familiar with the matter: Apple is betting on AI phones or new iPhones from popular suppliers, order volume increased by more than 10% year over year]
A number of people familiar with the matter revealed that Apple is betting that its first iPhone equipped with artificial intelligence will be very popular, and requires suppliers to prepare parts for about 88 million to 90 million smartphones, exceeding the initial order for about 80 million new iPhones last year. Some component manufacturers say they've even received orders for more than 90 million units, but they added that iPhone manufacturers usually place more orders at the beginning and then adjust the number of orders after the product is actually on the market. According to several sources, overall, Apple suppliers are cautious and expect iPhone shipments to be quite lackluster throughout the year, as the comparison base for 2023 is higher.
[Guo Mingyi: The iPhone 17 top version with 12G memory and stronger device-side AI will be the main selling point]
Analyst Guo Mingyi released a report stating that among the new iPhones in 2025, only the iPhone 17 Pro Max is equipped with the following specifications: 12GB DRAM (ultra-thin iPhone, iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and SE4 are all 8GB). Therefore, it can be expected that stronger device-side AI will be the main selling point of the iPhone 17 Pro Max. The cooling specifications have been upgraded, and it is equipped with a combination solution of VC (vapor chamber) and graphite sheets. The remaining 2025 new iPhones will continue to be equipped with graphite sheets. Currently, Pro Max accounts for nearly 40% of new model shipments. Among hardware products, the revenue and profit contribution to Apple is the most significant. The differentiation strategy of making the Pro Max equipped with the strongest specifications (not only is the screen size larger than the Pro) is expected to continue.
[News says Meta's dream is shattering, and future AR glasses chips will rely on chip companies such as Qualcomm]
Meta previously planned to build its own custom chip for a line of wearable consumer devices, but this plan was not implemented due to the company's ongoing efforts to control costs. Sources said that in the context of large-scale layoffs and cost cuts across the company, the job of customizing chips is considered too expensive, and demand for chips is far from current business priorities. Meta changed strategy and chose to rely on third-party chipmakers such as Qualcomm to design its upcoming prototypes and potential future versions of AR glasses.
[A seven-seater Model Y will be launched in China in October? [Tesla China: No relevant plans at the moment]
In response to recent reports that “Tesla plans to launch a seven-seater Model Y made in China in the Chinese and European markets in October this year, and the Shanghai Gigafactory has now begun production of this model,” Tesla China today responded, “There are currently no plans to launch related models domestically.”
[Media says Tesla has asked Canada to lower tariffs on Chinese-made Tesla]
Canada announced on August 26 that it will impose additional tariffs and other restrictions on electric vehicle products imported from China. According to a Reuters report, Canadian government sources pointed out that before Canada announced that it would levy 100% tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, US electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla contacted the Canadian government to request that Canada reduce import tariffs on Tesla electric vehicles made in China to a level comparable to the European Union. The Canadian side declined to comment.
[Google researchers release first AI game engine]
In a recently published paper, Google researchers have created a neural network that can generate real-time game images for the classic shooter game “DOOM” (“Doom”) without using traditional game engines. The researchers also published this study on Github and released the real-time game engine GameGen. According to reports, GameGen is the first game engine that is entirely driven by neural models. It can simulate “Doom” in real time at more than 20 frames per second on a single TPU (artificial intelligence accelerator chip customized by Google), and the generated image quality is very close to that of a real game, without the need for regular game components at all. The working principle of this engine is to use a diffusion model to predict each frame in real time, so game images are generated in real time based on player actions, interacting with complex environments. GameGen's training is divided into two stages. One is that the RL agent learns to play the game and records the training process, and the second is training the diffusion model to generate the next frame based on the order of past frames and actions. This could mean artificial intelligence will be able to instantly create games and provide personalized services to every player.
[According to news, TSMC is expected to launch a 2nm MPW service in September to attract downstream companies to take the lead]
TSMC will launch a semi-annual round of MPW service customer deliveries in September, and this round of MPW services is expected to provide a 2nm option for the first time, attracting downstream design companies to take the lead. MPW is a multi-project wafer. It collects chip design samples from multiple customers on the same test wafer for production, can distribute wafer costs, and can quickly complete chip trial production and verification.
[US Department of Defense signs 5 billion dollar procurement contract with Lockheed Martin to support and upgrade F-35 fighter jets]
The US Department of Defense released news that it has signed a contract totaling about 5 billion US dollars with the defense industry company Lockheed Martin to provide a range of services to support, upgrade and develop the fifth-generation F-35 fighter. The largest contract, worth over $3.9 billion, is a fixed-price contract that expires in September 2028. One of the agreements stated: “The contract procures training systems and design simulation, development, integration, testing, production, delivery, improvement and technical maintenance of the F-35 (Lightning II) Lightning II aircraft.” The second-largest contract, worth more than $1 billion, will expand the scope of services to provide engineering, technical, logistical and material support for F-35 aircraft laboratory facilities and flight testing activities, including identification and elimination of fighter software anomalies.
[Uber makes a strategic investment in Wayve]
Wayve, a British autonomous driving technology startup, has announced a new strategic partnership with Uber (Uber). Uber also agreed to make a strategic investment in Wayve as an extension of the company's previously announced Series C funding. According to the cooperation between the two parties, autonomous vehicles powered by Wayve will be used on the Uber network in various markets around the world in the future.
[Toyota closes Japanese plant until Friday due to typhoon]
Toyota Motor Corporation spokesman Hideaki Homma said in an email that the company plans to close all of its factories in Japan by Friday due to the typhoon. Toyota suspended operations at 14 of its domestic factories in Japan starting Wednesday night.
Notable events during the US stock market (Beijing time)
August 29
22:00 Monthly rate of existing home contract sales index in the US in July
22:30 US EIA natural gas inventory for the week of August 23
8/30
04:30 Foreign central banks hold US Treasury bonds for the week from the US to August 24
03:30 Atlanta Federal Reserve Chairman Bostic (2024 FOMC Voting Committee) delivered a speech on monetary policy and economic prospects