Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) Pre-Market Update: Nvidia Resumes AI Chip Sales, Bank Earnings Season Begins, and June Consumer Price Index Release

Intercontinental Exchange Inc (ICE) released a pre-market update highlighting significant market movements, including Nvidia's plans to resume AI chip sales to China, the commencement of bank earnings season, and the June Consumer Price Index release. The update also celebrated milestones for Colony Bankcorp and TransUnion. Nvidia's announcement is expected to boost market confidence, while the bank earnings season and inflation data will provide insights into the financial sector's health. However, uncertainty around tariffs and inflation may pose risks to market stability.

Intercontinental Exchange Inc (ICE) recently released a pre-market update highlighting significant market movements, including Nvidia's plans to resume AI chip sales to China, the commencement of bank earnings season, and the June Consumer Price Index release. The update also celebrated milestones for Colony Bankcorp and TransUnion.

Nvidia Corp. has announced that it will resume sales of its H20 artificial intelligence accelerator to China, following assurances from the US government that such shipments would be approved. This marks a dramatic reversal from the Trump administration's earlier stance, which had blocked the sale of these chips in China since April. The H20, a less powerful version of Nvidia's gold-standard AI acceleration semiconductors designed specifically for China, was created to comply with earlier trade curbs but had been restricted from sale in China. The Commerce Department, which oversees semiconductor export controls, has not yet responded to a request for comment on this matter [1].

The announcement has been well-received by the market, with Nasdaq futures surging after Nvidia’s announcement. Hong Kong and Chinese stocks also reacted positively, with the Hang Seng Tech Index rising as much as 2.2% and data center operators like Beijing Sinnet Technology Co. jumping as much as 7.6% [1]. Vey-Sern Ling, managing director at Union Bancaire Privee, stated that this development is positive for both Nvidia and the AI semiconductor supply chain, as well as for Chinese tech platforms building AI capabilities. This is also seen as a positive development for US-China relations [1].

In addition to the Nvidia news, the market is gearing up for the start of the bank earnings season, which will provide insights into the financial sector's health. Major US banks are expected to report results this week, with renewed investor enthusiasm about the IPO and M&A markets, along with Wells Fargo's (WFC) freedom from a decade of more stringent regulatory restrictions, likely to feature prominently [3]. Netflix (NFLX) will kick off earnings from big US tech firms, while ASML (ASML) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) will offer key updates on the AI-related chip boom. Analysts are expecting 5% earnings growth for the S&P 500 (^GSPC) in the second quarter, marking the slowest pace of profit growth since the fourth quarter of 2023 [3].

The update also highlighted the upcoming release of the June Consumer Price Index (CPI), which will set the economic agenda for the week. Wall Street economists expect to see inflation move further from the Fed's goals, with core consumer prices set to rise 2.9% over the prior year in June. On a monthly basis, both core and headline inflation is set to rise 0.3% [3]. The inflation data is expected to keep the Federal Reserve on the sidelines, as it assesses the impact of tariffs on inflation.

Uncertainty around tariffs and inflation may pose risks to market stability. The market's recent rally suggests that the backward-looking set of results companies will roll out in the weeks ahead has already been discounted. However, new tariffs announced on Canada and Trump's decision to float higher blanket tariffs on all US imports have raised concerns about the potential impact on the economy and the stock market [3].

In summary, the pre-market update from ICE highlights several significant developments in the financial sector. Nvidia's announcement to resume AI chip sales to China is expected to boost market confidence, while the bank earnings season and inflation data will provide valuable insights into the financial sector's health. However, the uncertainty around tariffs and inflation may pose risks to market stability.

References:
[1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-07-15/nvidia-expects-license-to-sell-h20-ai-chip-to-china-again
[2] https://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/nvidia-to-resume-h20-ai-chip-sales-to-china-in-us-reversal-2
[3] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/inflation-data-big-bank-earnings-and-netflix-results-what-to-watch-this-week-115103942.html