New York, March 3, 2026, 07:00 AM EST — Premarket
- Nvidia shares slipped roughly 3% in premarket trading, undoing part of Monday’s gain of about 3%.
- Megacap tech names came under pressure as U.S. stock index futures fell sharply, with oil prices spiking on worries over conflict in the Middle East.
- Nvidia’s $4 billion bet on photonics is under close scrutiny from investors, who are also anticipating new product updates slated for later this month.
Nvidia (NVDA.O) slipped roughly 3% to $177.09 before the bell Tuesday. The stock had closed out Monday at $182.48, a 3% gain. 1
U.S. futures dropped as investors pulled back on risk following strikes by the U.S. and Israel against Iran. Tehran’s threats to disrupt shipping in the Strait of Hormuz—the crucial oil chokepoint—added to the tension. “Much will depend on the price of oil,” Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid and his team noted, cautioning that a lasting surge could make the market’s downturn even worse. 2
Nvidia shares slid just a day after the company announced a $4 billion photonics push—splitting $2 billion investments each between Lumentum and Coherent. The move aims to ramp up data-center chip production amid rising inference workloads. Both agreements feature multi-billion dollar purchase deals and secure capacity for Nvidia, as major cloud buyers weigh switching to custom silicon and competitors look to roll out new accelerator options. 3
Nvidia, in its announcement about the Lumentum partnership, described the deal as nonexclusive and said it covers future access to advanced laser component capacity. The company’s $2 billion investment is earmarked for U.S. manufacturing and R&D. “AI has reinvented computing,” said CEO Jensen Huang. Lumentum’s Michael Hurlston added that his company plans to put funds toward a new fab to boost output. 4
The Coherent deal takes a familiar shape: Nvidia has signed a multiyear, nonexclusive supply agreement, agreeing to buy and secure access to advanced laser and optical networking gear, and is putting up $2 billion. “Computing has fundamentally changed,” Nvidia’s Huang said. For Coherent, CEO Jim Anderson described it as the next chapter in a longstanding partnership, targeting “AI data centers of the future.” 5
Photonics swaps out electrical signals for light to transmit data—a technology chipmakers and network equipment players are rushing to adopt as they look to slash energy costs and ramp up bandwidth inside AI-heavy data centers. It’s all about relieving congestion, especially as these clusters balloon to thousands of GPUs and the data shuttling between chips rivals the importance of the silicon itself. 6
Some investors are making moves before Nvidia’s GTC developer conference, a venue where the company lays out its chip roadmap and networking equipment plans following its earnings cycle. 7
The near-term story remains driven by macro shocks. High oil and rising yields together? That spells trouble for pricey tech, regardless of good news out of the companies themselves. Nvidia, in particular, doesn’t have much margin for error—demand or supply can’t really falter.
Nvidia’s got its eye on GTC in San Jose, running March 16–19. CEO Jensen Huang will headline the event with his keynote on March 16. 8
