CoreWeave rebounds 5% as Jensen Huang backs data center operator

Thursday's trading session began with a broad retreat from AI-related chip names, but the selling pressure eased as the day wore on. Nvidia and AMD both pared earlier losses to end down roughly 1%, while TSMC — despite positive earnings and record profit — also trimmed its decline to less than 1%. Sandisk, the S&P 500's top performer in 2026, closed just below the flatline, and Micron actually turned positive during the session.

The flashpoint was CoreWeave, the Nvidia-backed cloud provider whose spike in bond yields has raised concerns about its debt-heavy balance sheet and rising interest rates amid sticky inflation. After a 15% rout on Wednesday, CoreWeave fell as much as 7% on Thursday before reversing sharply to close up more than 5%. The turnaround followed comments from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who expressed optimism about the data center operator.

Underlying the volatility is a collision between two forces: worries over the cost of capital for companies carrying heavy debt, and inflation data that came in hotter than expected. Investors responded by rotating into defensive sectors and buying Treasurys, pushing long-dated yields substantially lower. Both Micron and SK Hynix had also been hit earlier in the week over worries about Chinese competition.