Leopold Aschenbrenner's Situational Awareness unwound its entire book after leveraged AI and software trades went wrong, CNBC's David Faber reported. That is the frame for today. This was leverage coming out, and it showed up in the closes.
NVDA finished $190.01 — the exact low of the session. AMD lost 5.51%. Eight of ten names on the board closed red.
Verdict
Forced selling produces closes at the low, and we got them across the board. If NVDA can't reclaim ground above $190.01 early Friday, the desk treats this as unfinished — below $185.00 within three sessions and there's another leg.
| Symbol | Close | Change | Day range | 52-week range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMD | $429.56 | -25.06 (-5.51%) | $424.03–$457.22 | $149.22–$584.73 |
| V | $368.73 | +2.14 (+0.58%) | $355.48–$373.97 | $293.89–$373.97 |
| JPM | $344.71 | -12.60 (-3.53%) | $343.78–$357.37 | $279.10–$359.30 |
| TSLA | $298.32 | -9.12 (-2.97%) | $297.38–$309.05 | $297.38–$498.83 |
| META | $585.61 | -7.80 (-1.31%) | $582.22–$599.97 | $520.26–$796.25 |
| AMZN | $226.65 | -4.21 (-1.82%) | $226.16–$232.82 | $196.00–$278.56 |
| GOOGL | $336.71 | +3.00 (+0.90%) | $331.62–$342.50 | $187.82–$408.61 |
| NVDA | $190.01 | -7.00 (-3.55%) | $190.01–$197.07 | $164.07–$236.54 |
| MSFT | $390.54 | -2.81 (-0.71%) | $388.74–$401.25 | $349.20–$555.45 |
| AAPL | $338.19 | -1.89 (-0.56%) | $337.35–$344.57 | $201.50–$344.57 |
The Board
- NVDA $190.01 — down 3.55% on 136.6M shares, the heaviest volume of the ten. Closed at the bottom of its range. Now 19.7% below the $236.54 52-week high.
- AMD $429.56 — down $25.06 on 31.5M shares. Gapped down 0.58%, rallied to $457.22, then gave it all back. The catalyst was reported Chinese progress in domestic chipmaking equipment. Our $442.35 downside call from Tuesday is confirmed and then some.
- JPM $344.71 — down 3.53%, closed in the lower third of its range on 8.3M shares. This is the tell. The selling was not confined to semis.
- TSLA $298.32 — down 2.97%. The session low of $297.38 is the 52-week low. Closed 0.3% above it. No cushion left.
- AMZN $226.65 — down 1.82% on 40M shares. Gapped down 0.67% and never recovered. Lower-third close.
- META $585.61 — down 1.31%, lower third of the range, 26.5% below its high. The pre-print weakness we flagged Monday kept going.
- MSFT $390.54 — down 0.71% but printed $401.25 intraday. That fade off the high matters more than the small loss.
- AAPL $338.19 — down 0.56%, still only 1.9% below its $344.57 52-week high. Relative strength, weak close.
- GOOGL $336.71 — up 0.90%, the best print on the board and the only name to close mid-range. Bought while chips were sold.
- V $368.73 — gapped down 2.62% to $357.00, then printed a new 52-week high at $373.97 before closing up 0.58% in the upper third of its range.
V traveled $18.49 from its $355.48 low to its $373.97 high — the widest reversal on the board, and the only new 52-week high printed all session.
The spread between GOOGL and AMD was 6.41 percentage points. That is dispersion, not a broad flush.
What We're Changing
The chip-containment read from Tuesday is dead. NVDA broke $192.74 and closed on the low — we're not defending it.
New focus is V. A close above $373.97 within five sessions confirms the breakout that failed to hold today.
What flips the bearish semi view: AMD closing above $457.22 within five sessions. That would mean the China equipment story was a one-day repricing and the sellers are done.
Open Checklist
- NVDA $190.01 — must hold on the open. Below $185.00, the deleveraging extends.
- TSLA $297.38 — the 52-week low. Below $295.00 within five sessions and the floor is gone.
- V $373.97 — the 52-week high. A close above it is the breakout level the desk is watching.