US equity markets advanced as investors digested a cooler-than-expected inflation report that revived hopes of interest rate cuts later this year - Dow fell -270-points or -0.64%. UnitedHealth Group Inc slumped -17.79%, alone wiping ~410-points off the 30-stock index after the insurance giant withdrew its full-year outlook and announced the surprise exit of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Andrew Witty after four years in the role. The withdrawal of the 2025 outlook comes less than a month after the company slashed its 2025 guidance, saying costs rose as Medicare Advantage care activity had increased at twice the expected rate. Nvidia Corp rallied +5.63% and climbed back above the US$3 trillion level in market capitalisation terms for the first time since February, buoyed by a Bloomberg report that President Trump is planning to unveil a deal that would afford Saudi Arabia more access to advanced chips manufactured by the company and the likes of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Inc (+4.01%). To deal with the U.S.’s national security concerns, the U.S. and Saudi governments have reportedly discussed creating data embassies, where data centres will fall under foreign regulations rather than local laws around data protection. Meanwhile, Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang announced a deal to deploy 18,000 chips with newly launched Saudi AI firm Humain for a data centre that is expected to reach 500 megawatts. AMD also announced a US$10B partnership with the artificial intelligence (AI) company to build out its AI infrastructure over the next five years. Boeing Co rose +2.46% following reports that China had lifted its ban on deliveries of US-made aircraft.
