Evening digest: Markets shrug tariffs, AMD-Meta deal, Bitcoin in focus

Markets are navigating a fresh wave of policy and corporate crosscurrents.

Investors largely shrugged off President Donald Trump’s latest tariff move, with equities holding steady despite renewed trade uncertainty.

In tech, Meta deepened its AI infrastructure push through a multiyear chip deal with AMD, underscoring intensifying competition for compute capacity.

Meanwhile, Novo Nordisk ignited a pricing battle in the US obesity and diabetes market, and Bitcoin faces renewed pressure as traders weigh tariff risks and shifting sentiment.

Markets shrug Trump's latest tariffs

Global investors largely shrugged off President Donald Trump’s latest tariff drama on Tuesday, as new “temporary” duties kicked in at 10% even after Trump floated a higher 15% rate over the weekend.

Markets across Asia were mixed and US stocks edged up after the open, suggesting traders are sticking with the so-called “TACO trade,” the belief that Trump’s toughest tariff threats often get softened or delayed.

Analysts said that the bigger issue isn’t the exact rate, but the uncertainty it creates for companies and trading partners, especially if the EU seeks to reopen last year’s deals.

AMD-Meta deal

Meta Platforms struck a multiyear deal to deploy up to 6 gigawatts of AMD GPUs in its AI data centers, days after expanding its Nvidia commitment.

Early shipments of AMD’s MI450 chips in Helios rack-scale servers are slated to begin later this year, alongside AI-optimized CPUs.

The agreement includes a performance-based warrant letting Meta buy 160 million AMD shares, about 10% of the chipmaker, as deliveries scale from 1GW to 6GW.

Analyst said the pact underscores a compute-constrained market and hinges on customized GPUs.

Meta has guided to as much as $135 billion of capex for 2026 alone.

Novo ignites price war

Novo Nordisk said it will cut US list prices for its blockbuster drugs Wegovy and Ozempic, and the pill Rybelsus by as much as 50% starting Jan. 1, 2027, setting a new list price of $675 a month across the products.

Wegovy’s current list price is about $1,350 a month, while Ozempic and Rybelsus are around $1,027.

The company said the move is aimed at insured patients whose out-of-pocket costs are tied to list prices, such as people in high-deductible plans or those paying coinsurance.

Novo expects some commercially insured patients could pay as little as $25.

Bitcoin faces fresh headwinds

Bitcoin’s rebound is at risk as investors turn cautious amid fresh tariff tensions and delays in key policy decisions, according to an Invezz analysis published Tuesday.

The piece says the mood shift is pushing traders toward traditional safe havens, leaving crypto vulnerable when risk appetite fades.

It argues that without clearer signals on trade and regulation, rallies can quickly stall as positioning stays defensive.

For now, it suggests Bitcoin needs calmer policy messaging to regain durable momentum in the near term.