Evening digest: Nvidia, AMD invest in Meta, gold prices rebound

Nvidia and AMD moved to deepen their partnerships with Meta as the Facebook parent expanded its artificial intelligence infrastructure spending, while Microsoft offered voluntary buyouts to eligible employees.

Meanwhile, gold prices recovered as oil eased on hopes of progress in Middle East peace talks, although geopolitical risks continued to cloud the energy market.

Nvidia and AMD invest in Meta as AI spending expands

Nvidia will invest $3 billion in Meta Platforms as the social media company increases its planned equity fundraising to $97.5 billion from $95 billion announced a day earlier.

Meta has launched offerings of about $35 billion in common and preferred stock and plans to raise up to another $60 billion through an at-the-market programme.

Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom had expressed interest in purchasing up to $5 billion in shares, according to Meta's announcement.

The Nvidia investment accompanies an expanded partnership covering AI models, computing infrastructure and software optimisation.

Meta plans to increase its use of Nvidia infrastructure, including Vera Rubin systems and Vera CPUs, while the companies will collaborate on networking and tools to improve AI agent performance.

AMD separately announced a $1 billion investment in Meta's equity offering alongside an expansion of their computing partnership.

The collaboration spans CPUs, GPUs, networking and software.

AMD said its Helios rack-scale systems were installed and undergoing testing at Meta, with broader deployment planned.

The agreements highlight Meta's efforts to secure computing capacity as it develops AI models and services to compete with rivals including OpenAI and Anthropic.

Microsoft offers voluntary buyouts to about 60,000 employees

Microsoft is offering voluntary buyouts to about 60,000 eligible employees in the US, Canada, India and the UK as it adjusts its workforce while investing heavily in AI infrastructure.

The programme covers employees at experience level 70 or below across several divisions, including AI experiences, Copilot, finance, human resources, Xbox and Windows + Devices.

Marketing, commercial business and security teams are excluded.

Microsoft employed 223,000 full-time workers globally as of June 30, 2026.

The initiative follows an earlier voluntary retirement programme introduced in April, which was available to about 9,000 US employees.

Microsoft said more than 30% of those eligible for that programme accepted the offer.

The workforce changes come as Microsoft forecasts $175 billion in capital expenditure for calendar year 2026.

Investors are assessing whether its substantial AI investments can generate sufficient returns, particularly as the company adapts its products and business model around AI services.

Gold rebounds as investors assess Fed outlook

Gold prices rose on Tuesday as lower oil prices eased some inflation concerns ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting.

Spot gold gained 1.1% to $4,060.80 an ounce, recovering after falling to $3,987.14 earlier in the session. US gold futures for December delivery rose 0.9% to $4,074.90.

Investors are also awaiting US personal consumption expenditures inflation data, due Thursday.

The Fed is expected to leave interest rates unchanged this week, but markets are pricing in an 83% probability of a rate increase in December, according to CME's FedWatch Tool.

Higher interest rates generally weigh on gold by increasing the opportunity cost of holding a non-yielding asset.

Analysts have also lowered their 2026 gold forecasts amid elevated Treasury yields, a stronger dollar and expectations that rates will remain higher for longer.

Oil falls as traders monitor Middle East negotiations

Oil prices declined on Tuesday as traders monitored diplomatic efforts to ease the Middle East conflict, although prices remained near six-month highs.

Brent crude futures fell 1.78%, to $113.75 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate declined 2%, to $99.68.

Iranian officials held discussions with representatives from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, with the countries agreeing to continue talks on peace and security.

However, renewed Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, including a claimed strike on the Ras Tanura oil refinery, kept supply concerns elevated.

UBS raised its year-end Brent forecast to $110 a barrel from $100, citing geopolitical uncertainty and volatile Middle East supplies.

Meanwhile, SEB analysts said oil prices continued to reflect the risk of further US and Israeli attacks on Iran.

The competing signals from diplomacy and regional attacks kept energy markets volatile, with developments in the conflict remaining central to the outlook for oil prices.