Nvidia is set to report fiscal 2027 second-quarter results after the U.S. market closes on Wednesday, with Wall Street expecting roughly $92 billion in revenue, adjusted EPS of $2.09, and about $85.4 billion from data center sales. The central question is no longer whether the company can beat consensus, but whether management can answer tougher issues tied to the next leg of the AI trade. Broker views remain broadly constructive on the quarter itself. Jefferies sees revenue at $95 billion and October-quarter guidance at $108 billion, while Citi raised its estimates and kept a $300 target. Morgan Stanley is more conservative on near-term numbers but still argues valuation is not stretched on its FY28 framework. Even so, firms including Goldman Sachs say a simple beat-and-raise may not be enough after Nvidia shares climbed more than 12% in August. Investors are focused on four areas beyond headline earnings: how fast the Rubin platform can scale after Blackwell, whether increasingly complex customer financing structures are creating balance-sheet risk, whether gross margin assumptions remain realistic as memory and packaging costs rise, and how power availability may slow data center buildouts. Options markets also reflect a more restrained setup, with implied earnings volatility near 5.4%, the lowest since August 2021 and below the 12-quarter average of 7.4%.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has put its earlier approval of Nasdaq PHLX’s bitcoin index options on hold while it reviews a challenge from CME Group over which regulator should oversee the product. The dispute centers on whether cash-settled bitcoin index options tied directly to bitcoin’s value fall under the SEC or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The SEC had conditionally approved the product in May, allowing Nasdaq PHLX to list the contract under the ticker QBTC. CME objected in June, arguing that because bitcoin is treated as a commodity, options directly linked to its value should fall within the CFTC’s exclusive jurisdiction. The SEC accepted CME’s petition for review on July 29 and suspended the approval pending a final decision. The agency is also seeking public comment, with submissions due by Aug. 24. The outcome could determine whether Nasdaq can move forward with QBTC as structured, whether it would need to seek a CFTC-regulated venue for futures or swaps, or whether the contract would need to be redesigned around a security such as a spot bitcoin ETF.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has paused its review of a proposal from Nasdaq PHLX for cash-settled Bitcoin index options, according to The Block, in a brief update cited by ChainCatcher. The move came after the SEC approved a petition for review filed by CME Group. The source text did not provide additional details on the review timeline, next procedural steps, or any expected decision date. No further terms of the proposal were disclosed in the item. The update centers on the procedural change itself: a temporary halt in the SEC’s consideration of the Nasdaq PHLX filing following approval of CME Group’s review request. ChainCatcher published the item under its policy and regulation category.

The SEC waived the 30-day review period for NYSE Arca and NYSE American rule changes, eliminating the 25,000-contract cap on 11 spot crypto ETF options. All major US exchanges have now followed suit.

The SEC has approved Nasdaq PHLX to list Bitcoin index options, giving traders direct BTC price exposure without using a spot ETF. The contracts are cash-settled, European-style, capped at 24,000 contracts, and carry a notional value of about $76,000 each.

Goldman Sachs’ trading desk said in a July 23 market note that the recent rebound in semiconductor stocks may still have room to run. The bank said hedge funds have unwound roughly 80% of their year-to-date cumulative net buying in global semiconductor and semiconductor equipment shares since mid-June, easing what had been a crowded positioning setup. In the last one to two days, however, buyers started to return. According to the note, the clearest buying has shown up in the areas that were hit hardest during the pullback: memory and semiconductor equipment. Goldman flagged memory names including STX, WDC, MU, and SNDK, as well as equipment stocks such as AMAT, ASML, and LRCX. The desk said that move lined up with recent market action, with memory shares including Micron, SanDisk, and Seagate rebounding sharply at one point and the PHLX Semiconductor Index also posting a strong recovery. Goldman added that positioning remains elevated even after the pullback from June highs. It said the next leg for the group will likely depend on whether major cloud companies keep lifting AI capital expenditure plans, whether memory pricing and orders support earnings expectations, and whether equipment orders confirm that AI data center expansion is still moving ahead.

The U.S. SEC approved Nasdaq's cash-settled Bitcoin index options under ticker QBTC, offering regulated Bitcoin exposure without holding BTC or ETFs. Trading requires additional approvals, including from the CFTC.

SEC Trading and Markets Director Jamie Selway outlined a tokenized securities framework focused on "innovation without arbitrage," coordinating with the CFTC on derivatives and preparing for 2026 rollout by DTCC, Nasdaq, and NYSE.