Chips, China, and Bears: September 4 Market Wrap

Semiconductors Dominate the Headlines

Chips are the story of the day — from every angle. South Korea secured $2 billion in investment pledges from four US companies, including AMZN, GOOGL, MU, and GLW. The deals come as the Trump administration keeps pressure on foreign chipmakers. Analysts lifted targets on NVDA to $327.13 and MRVL to $285.00. Both carry near-universal buy ratings. United Microelectronics saw its cost to borrow spike 368% in one week to 1.83%, signalling a sharp jump in short-selling demand.

NVIDIA Insider Sells $411M

An NVIDIA board member filed sales of over $411 million between August 31 and September 2. The pace and scale of the transactions — up to $98 million in a single day — point to a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan rather than a discretionary sell decision. On the buy side, Bill Gates filed $122 million in purchases of RSG, picking up over 552,000 shares in Republic Services.

Bilibili Raises $700M

BILI launched a $700 million convertible note offering, with TCEHY subscribing to $200 million of the deal. Short interest in BILI sits at 8.3% of free float, with borrow availability at just 30%. That tight borrow environment adds risk for bears.

UK Defence Reports Today

BAB and CHG both released UK defence sector results this morning. FLEX meanwhile announced a $4.4 billion acquisition of EPC Power, a power solutions maker — even as analysts trimmed their average target slightly to $158.33.