^{_{Welcome to the TraderTV Live Morning Research Note. Here's what's making major moves in the market today.}}

0845 - Fed’s Goolsbee speaks
1000 - UMich consumer sentiment for October: Expected 54; Prior 55.1
1000 - UMich 5yr inflation expectations for October: Expected 3.7%; Prior 3.7%
1000 - UMich 1yr inflation expectations for October: Expected 4.7%; Prior 4.7%
1300 - Fed’s Musalem speaks

NVIDIA Corp (NVDA)

+0.65%

On watch after the Financial Times reported that China has ramped up enforcement of import restrictions on US semiconductor products, including the company’s AI chips. This move is part of China’s ongoing efforts to boost domestic chip production. Customs officials are reportedly conducting strict inspections at major ports, initially targeting Nvidia’s H20 and RTX Pro 6000D chips but now extending checks to all advanced semiconductors that may violate US export controls.

Qualcomm Inc (QCOM)

-1.30%

Trading lower premarket after China’s market regulator announced an antitrust investigation into into the company. The probe is focused on Qualcomm’s acquisition of Israeli chipmaker Autotalks, with the regulator alleging that Qualcomm failed to properly disclose details of the deal. This investigation follows Beijing’s recent scrutiny of U.S. semiconductor firms, including a similar accusation against Nvidia for violating China’s anti-monopoly law.

Levi Strauss & Co (LEVI)

-6.03%

Gapping down following its Q3 2025 earnings report. The company posted adjusted earnings of $0.34 per share and sales of $1.543 billion, beating estimates of $0.31 and $1.501 billion, respectively. Net revenue grew by 7% year-over-year, with direct-to-consumer revenue increasing by 11%. Levi Strauss raised its adjusted EPS guidance for FY25 to $1.27-$1.32, compared to estimates of $1.31, and hiked its sales guide for the same period to a better-than-expected $6.592 billion.

Tesla Inc (TSLA)

+0.27%

The company’s Chinese-made EV sales rose 2.8% year-over-year in September to 90,812 units, ending a two-month slump as deliveries of its new six-seater model began. The rebound, supported by stronger European demand, helped Tesla deliver 241,890 China-made vehicles in Q3 and achieve record global quarterly deliveries ahead of the US EV tax credit expiry.

Venture Global Inc (VG)

-16.93%

Gapping down after BP won an arbitration case over the company’s failure to deliver LNG under a long-term supply contract. The International Chamber of Commerce ruled that Venture Global breached its obligations at the Calcasieu Pass plant, marking a setback after it had previously won a similar dispute with Shell. Mizuho downgraded Venture Global from Outperform to Neutral following the decision and cut its price target for the stock from $17 to $12.

Applied Digital Corp (APLD)

+25.78%

Gapping up after its Q1 2026 earnings report. The company posted losses of $0.03 per share, outperforming the expected $0.13-per-share loss, while sales of $64.216 million exceeded estimates of $49.969 million. Applied Digital emphasized that it is continuing to review its “strategic options” for its cloud services business. Approximately 34.55% of the stock’s float is sold short.

Alphabet Inc (GOOGL)

+0.15%

Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority has designated the company with “strategic market status” in online search, marking the first use of new powers to address Big Tech dominance. The move allows regulators to require operational changes in Google’s UK search business but does not imply any wrongdoing or impose immediate obligations.

Intel Corp (INTC)

+1.83%

Trading higher premarket. On Thursday morning, the company unveiled its next-generation Core Ultra 3 “Panther Lake” processors, the first to use its advanced Intel 18A process. The chips, set to begin shipping later this year and ramp up into 2026, will power AI PCs and gaming devices. Intel’s 18A-based Xeon 6+ “Clearwater Forest” server chips are slated for launch in 2026 from its Arizona fabrication plant.

Arm Holdings PLC (ARM)

-0.97%

On watch after Bloomberg reported that SoftBank Group is in talks to secure a $5 billion margin loan backed by shares of Arm. Softbank founder Masayoshi Son has been accelerating investments in artificial intelligence as of late, including providing additional funding to OpenAI. The new facility, which would raise SoftBank’s total margin loans against Arm shares to $18.5 billion, follows a series of large borrowings and acquisitions aimed at positioning the firm as a major force in the global AI boom.

CleanSpark Inc (CLSK)

+5.72%

Trading sharply higher premarket following a price target increase from Needham. The analyst raised its price target for CleanSpark from $21 to $23 while maintaining a Buy rating on the stock. Approximately 20.9% of the stock’s float is sold short.

ESS Tech Inc (GWH)

+177.91%

Gapping up after announcing a 5 MW/50 MWh iron flow battery project with Salt River Project. The initiative, which has been named “Project New Horizon”, is set to be installed at SRP’s Copper Crossing Energy and Research Center in Arizona under a 10-year energy storage agreement. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.56 million and a float of 8.84 million shares, nearly 12% of which are sold short.