Nvidia CEO Huang says chip sales to double next year; Japan, Korea stocks rally

Japanese and South Korean Stocks Stage Broad Rebound

On the morning of September 18, Japanese and South Korean stock markets rose across the board. The Nikkei 225 (N225) index gained more than 1%, while South Korea's KOSPI (KS11) index surged over 2%. Memory chip giant SK Hynix (SKHY) and Samsung Electronics both posted significant gains, with SoftBank Group rising more than 5%.

As of 8:30 AM Beijing time, South Korea's KOSPI had jumped 2.32%, and the Nikkei 225 had risen 1.01%. Among heavyweight stocks, SK Hynix surged 4.64%, and Samsung Electronics gained 2.87%.

Key News Drivers

• Bank of Japan Rate Decision: The Bank of Japan is expected to raise its policy rate from 1% to 1.25% at the conclusion of its two-day meeting on Friday. This would mark the central bank's second rate hike within three months, with the pace of tightening set to be the fastest since 1990.
• NVIDIA CEO Optimism: NVIDIA (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang stated in his latest remarks that he expects the company's chip sales next year to double compared to this year.

Japan Inflation Data

Data released by the Japanese government on Friday showed:

• August Consumer Price Index (CPI), excluding fresh food, rose 1.7% year-on-year, lower than July's 1.8%
• CPI excluding fresh food and energy rose 1.9% year-on-year
• Overall CPI increased by 1.9%

Analyst Commentary

Derek Halpenny, an analyst at MUFG, noted that the yen could weaken if the Bank of Japan fails to signal that the magnitude of the rate hike will meet market expectations. He stated:

"The market widely anticipates a 25-basis-point hike by the Bank of Japan, possibly accompanied by hints of further tightening plans. That said, given that the market has already priced in cumulative rate hikes of 90 basis points over the next 12 months, there is a risk that Governor Kazuo Ueda's comments may fall short of market expectations, which warrants attention."

Analysts surveyed by Reuters expect the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates to 1.5% by the end of March next year, and further to 1.75% by the second quarter of 2027. Most analysts believe the final rate will reach at least 1.75%.

US Stock Market Rallies Overnight

The U.S. stock market rallied collectively overnight, with the Nasdaq Composite surging 1.69%. Large-cap tech stocks broadly advanced, and semiconductor, memory, and optical communication concept stocks all rose across the board.

Key US Market Movers

• NVIDIA (NVDA): Climbed 2.54%
• Tesla (TSLA): Rose 2.27%
• Amazon (AMZN): Gained 2.13%
• Apple (AAPL), Google, Microsoft (MSFT), Meta (META): Each increased by more than 1%
• Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX): Jumped more than 3%
• Arm Holdings: Rose over 8%
• Intel (INTC): Surged more than 7%
• SanDisk (SNDK): Climbed over 6%
• Micron Technology (MU): Gained more than 5%
• SK Hynix (SKHY): Rose over 4%

Analysts noted that market panic following the Federal Reserve's rate hike quickly subsided, while international oil prices fell for the second consecutive day, providing support for cooling inflation expectations.

Jensen Huang Delivers Major Positive News

On September 17 local time, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang stated that as AI penetrates further into industries such as healthcare, manufacturing, and financial services, the company's chip sales next year will double compared to this year.

Speaking at a summit held in Scotland, Huang said:

"I expect the number of chips sold by NVIDIA next year to be twice that of this year. The reason is that AI is delivering enormous value contributions across different industries and economies. You can see almost everywhere we do business that people want to invest in AI."

Huang further pointed out that the current bottleneck is not demand, but rather NVIDIA's ability to produce chips.

Revenue Forecast

NVIDIA previously disclosed that it expects revenue growth of 70% for the fiscal year ending January 2028, with revenue reaching approximately $673 billion. This forecast has prompted analysts to significantly raise their market expectations.

Chip Sales Details

NVIDIA did not disclose specific figures for total chip sales. Currently, the company's most well-known products are GPUs used in data centers, including the Blackwell and Rubin series chips. Last autumn, Huang stated that NVIDIA had delivered 6 million Blackwell GPUs over four quarters.

AI Safety Discussion

During his attendance at the summit, Huang was joined by representatives from Google's DeepMind, OpenAI, and Anthropic. His trip to the UK primarily focused on discussing AI safety issues.

Huang does not support pausing AI research and development, stating:

"If a product is unsafe, we should restrict its launch and continue refining the technology."

Wall Street Outlook

Wall Street remains broadly optimistic about NVIDIA. According to TipRanks data, 30 analysts have assigned the stock a "Buy" rating over the past three months, resulting in a consensus market rating of "Strong Buy." The average analyst price target is $324.30, implying approximately 48% upside potential from the current share price.