Good morning. Here's what happened overnight and what you need to know today.
1.
Market bets: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s remarks at CES about surging demand for AI-related storage sent US memory and storage stocks sharply higher in afternoon Wall Street trading. Huang said storage for AI could become the largest storage market in the world, with BofA adding to that saying it expects demand to “skyrocket” due to AI applications such as drones and surveillance. Sandisk, the leading flash memory maker, was up as much as 25% to a record high and now more than 1,050% above its April low. Other memory and storage firms such as Western Digital and Seagate rose more than 15% and 11%, respectively. The gains helped extend Wall Street’s rally, with the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 up to fresh intraday highs. The Nasdaq also advanced. Moderna and Albemarle jumped after receiving price target upgrades. Cooling system stocks dropped after Huang said Nvidia’s new Rubin chips would not need water chillers in data centres. Johnson Controls, a key supplier of water-based cooling systems, fell 7.6%, while Trane dropped 6% and Modine sank as much as 21%. AIG declined after CEO Peter Zaffino announced plans to step down midyear. Elsewhere, Morgan Stanley filed to launch bitcoin and solana ETFs. (Reuters)(Bloomberg)(WSJ)
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Hug doctor: While Australian Max Marchione greets everyone with a hug, regularly injects his employees with peptides and convinced early team members to make a blood oath to the company mission, his high-stakes ambitions are deadly serious. Co-founder and CEO of healthtech Superpower, Marchione tells Capital Brief he is betting the future of medicine will be built not by hospitals or doctors, but by algorithms, biomarkers and a class of experimental compounds known as peptides. Superpower offers a $199-a-year membership that includes blood testing of 100-plus biomarkers with a nurse coming to your home, a “digital twin” health profile, AI-generated protocols, 24/7 access to a medical team and discounts on supplements, pharmaceuticals and the latest legalised peptides. The company is adding around 1,500 members a week, has grown to 105 staff, and is planning a Sydney office with 5 to 10 engineering hires – graduate salaries starting at $200,000. (Capital Brief)
