Business News Today
AMD Secures Major AI Chip Deal with OpenAI, Shares Soar 34%
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) have closed a multi-year supply agreement with OpenAI for custom AI accelerators, fuelling a 34% stock surge and adding $50 billion to its market capitalisation value. The deal positions AMD as a key player in the AI hardware boom, challenging Nvidia’s dominance with cost-effective alternatives for data centers. OpenAI aims to scale ChatGPT infrastructure, projecting $10 billion in annual savings. This partnership accelerates enterprise AI adoption across sectors like healthcare and finance, where AMD’s chips enable faster model training. Investors applaud the revenue visibility, forecasting 25% YoY growth for AMD’s data centre segment in 2026.
Nigeria Set to Tax Foreign Investors More
Equity markets in Nigeria will be facing a big test after reports emerged yesterday that Nigeria will be increasing its capital gains tax (CGT) by three-fold its current rate on all foreign equity investors capital growth. The new tax regulations are set to take effect as of 1 January 2026. The move stands to chase-off foreign investors in its listed shares, and potentially driving a large sell-off. The Nigerian stock market is one of the most actively traded on the African continent.
Commentators have suggested this would increase the barrier to entry from foreign investors dramatically and could see a net Foreign Direct investment outflow.Foreigners will be facing a 30% CGT, up from the existing 10% on the sale of Nigerian shares from January, with the only alternative provided to foreign investors, is a clause that will allow them to reinvest proceeds from sale of shares in other listed or unlisted domestic equities.
Stock Surge Drives Japan’s Indexes to fresh Highs
Japan’s share indexes have seen a second day of surges with the Nikkei 225 Index climbing 0.6% to above 48,200, while the broader Topix Index added 0.5% to reach 3,240 this morning, with both benchmarks hitting fresh record highs after fiscal easing and pro-stimulus lawmaker Sanae Takaichi won the ruling Liberal Democratic Party leadership race over the weekend, setting her up to become Japan’s next prime minister. Takaichi is expected to urge the Bank of Japan to maintain its ultra-loose monetary stance, sending the yen sharply lower. Japanese equities also mirrored Wall Street’s overnight gains, driven by the landmark deal between OpenAI and AMD that lifted sentiment around global AI growth
Breaking News Shorts:
- Chinese car making giant BYD says the UK has become its biggest market outside China, after its sales there surged by 880% in September compared to a year earlier.The company says it sold 11,271 cars in the UK last month, with the plug-in hybrid version of its Seal U sports utility vehicle (SUV) accounting for the majority of those sales.
- The S&P 500 closed at a new all-time high of 5,800, propelled by tech giants and resilient consumer spending, even as shutdown fears loomed. Gains were led by AI and semiconductor stocks, with the index up 0.8% amid mixed Wall Street signals
- Apple sold 10 million iPhones in China last quarter, up 8% YoY, defying US tariffs via localized supply chains. Services revenue hit $25 billion, driven by App Store and Apple TV+. Shares gained 3% on AI features in iOS 19 boosting upgrades.
- Nvidia reported Q3 bookings exceeding $30 billion, driven by hyperscaler demand for H100 GPUs, but warned of supply bottlenecks through 2026. Shares dipped 2% post-earnings on margin pressures from R&D costs
- Tesla has launched its “robotaxi” service in select US cities, pricing rides at $0.30 per mile, aiming to disrupt $10 trillion mobility market. Shares jumped 12% on strong Cybertruck deliveries, with Elon Musk projecting 20% margins from software
Markets by Numbers
Currency markets today indicate the US dollar has gained more ground today, with the Euro trading against the US dollar at 1.16900 while the Pound is trading at 1.34548 to the US dollar. The Yen is currently trading at 150.56 to the dollar. The rand (ZAR) is currently at R17.20 to the US dollar.
Commodities:
- Gold futures prices are currently flat, having hit a new high of $3967 earlier today, and are currently trading around $3961.00 per ounce.
- Copper prices are trading upwards, with prices currently at $5.0197
- Silver futures prices are trending lower today, and is currently trading around $4.8532
- Platinum futures are trading marginally higher today, and are currently trading at $1630.10, While Palladium prices are also trading higher this morning and currently at $1329.50
- Brent crude oil prices are trending higher this morning, and currently at $65.73 with WTI trading at $61.94
- Cocoa futures continue lower, and are currently trading around $6281.45 per ton.
- Coffee futures have fallen by over -2,3% today, and are currently at $381.45
Crypto Currencies:
- Bitcoin prices are slightly lower today after hitting new high of $126000 yesterday, and are currently trading at $124426
- Ether prices are trending higher today and are currently trading around the $4705.20 mark
- $Trumpcoin is trending higher today, and currently trading around $7.93
(All prices quoted at approximately 08H10 Central African Time)
Other Headline News in Africa Today
More US Deportees Arrive in Africa
The US has deported a second group of 10 people to Eswatini despite rights groups in the southern African state mounting legal action to block the plan. This second batch of deportees that the Trump administration has sent to Eswatini are part of its hard-line approach towards illegal immigration in the US. Eswatini’s prison department released a statement saying that the 10 have been “securely accommodated”, and posed no threat to the public. Some Eswatini MPs had previously raised concerns about the deal in parliament, but Prime Minister Russell Dlamini said it had been handled at “top clearance level”. The original five, included Jamaica, Cuba, Laos, Vietnam and Yemen civilians, with the Jamaican since been repatriated to his country of origin, while another two were expected to be repatriated soon, according to the Eswatini’s government.
