Midday Fly By: Nvidia said to see strong H200 demand in China

Stocks are fractionally lower Wednesday as profit-taking continues to close out a strong year for the market. The typical year-end rally hasn’t materialized, but the S&P 500 is on track to finish the year up about 17% as AI optimism, lower borrowing costs, and strong earnings fueled the rally, despite volatility from trade policy, geopolitical tensions, and valuation concerns.

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with this Midday Fly By.

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Nvidia (NVDA) scrambling to meet strong demand for H200 AI chip in China, Reuters reports
• Shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals (VNDA) have jumped after the FDA approved Nereus for prevention of vomiting induced by motion sickness
• Shares of Corcept Therapeutics (CORT) have been halved after the company received a complete response letter from the FDA regarding relacorilant as a treatment of hypertension secondary to hypercortisolism, citing the need for additional evidence of effectiveness

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded TeraWulf (WULF) on its high performance compute transition
• Wedbush downgraded GlobalFoundries (GFS) amid an elongated down cycle
• Clear Street upgraded Plug Power (PATH) to Buy on the path seen to profitability
• Wedbush downgraded Tower Semiconductor (TSEM) to Neutral on valuation

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• While an exact viewership total for December 25 was not provided, Netflix (NFLX) reports that the second volume of “Stranger Things” Season 5, two NFL games and other holiday viewing helped it achieve its highest Christmas Day viewership of all time this year, Variety reports
• Drugmakers including Pfizer (PFE), Sanofi (SNY), Boehringer Ingelheim, Novartis (NVS) and GSK (GSK) plan to raise U.S. prices on at least 350 branded medications, Reuters reports
• A CSX (CSX) train that derailed in a rural area of southern Kentucky leaked a flammable chemical and sparked a fire, after which authorities issued a shelter-in-place order for residents who were close by, AP says
• Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) plans to reject a revised takeover bid from Paramount Skydance (PSKY), Bloomberg reports
• Ahead of Meta Platforms’ (META) acquisition, Manus positioned itself for U.S. investment by creating distance from its Chinese roots and moving to Singapore, WSJ says

4. MOVERS:

• Ondas (ONDS) increases after securing $10M in new autonomous system orders
• Trump Media (DJT) gains after announcing plans to distribute digital tokens to shareholders
• Serve Robotics (SERV) higher after Freedom Capital initiated coverage of the stock with a Buy rating
• Robinhood (HOOD) falls after Barclays said preliminary December metrics indicate its transaction revenue could miss Q4 estimates

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE

• One Stop Systems (OSS) cut its revenue guidance for FY25
• Constellation Brands (STZ) to report Q3 results on January 7, 2026
• RPM International (RPM) to report Q1 results on January 8, 2026
• Jefferies Financial (JEF) to report Q4 results on January 7, 2026

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was down 0.23%, or 113.37, to 48,253.69, the Nasdaq was down 0.23%, or 53.01, to 23,366.07, and the S&P 500 was down 0.25%, or 17.01, to 6,879.23.