On Wednesday afternoon at 2pm California time, the world is set to watch the most consequential announcement in equity markets this year. The globe’s largest company, Nvidia, will deliver its quarterly earnings.

Australian traders will have quaffed their first espressos of the day, with the big news breaking at Thursday 9am AEDT. And, as one analyst summed it up, on trading desks around the world “we will be able to hear a pin drop”.

Chief executive Jensen Huang’s Nvidia last month became the first company to reach a $US5 trillion market valuation Much is riding on its continued growth.Credit: Bloomberg

Even Jerome Powell’s Federal Reserve rate decision in December is arguably less consequential.

Artificial intelligence is the engine room powering the US sharemarket, which in turn determines the fortunes of all stock markets around the world, including ours.

The result could go one of two ways.

If Nvidia disappoints, it may be a signal to the army of investors fretting about the AI bubble that their fears are justified.

This will cascade down to other tech stocks, whose share prices have been catapulted over recent months and years, and shift the overall US stock market down a gear.

The trouble is Nvidia will find it difficult to live up to profit expectations for its September quarter because........

© The Sydney Morning Herald