New York, Jan 21, 2026, 08:51 EST — Premarket
- In premarket action, NVIDIA (NVDA) edged up 0.17% to $178.38, after slipping 4.38% to $178.07 on Tuesday.
- The U.S. House panel is set to vote on the “AI Overwatch Act,” a measure that would let Congress review—and potentially block—export licenses for advanced AI chips.
- Bloomberg reports that CEO Jensen Huang will visit China in late January as Nvidia pushes to restore access to a crucial market for its H200 chip.
Nvidia shares edged up in early trading Wednesday, recovering some losses from a sharp drop the previous day. Investors remain focused on a recurring worry: will the company encounter fresh political barriers when selling its premium AI chips in China? 1
This matters because Nvidia’s data-center business now drives AI investment trends, with its shares often swinging sharply whenever regulators move. Even a minor shipment hiccup can ripple through server makers and cloud providers.
Policy uncertainty is driving investors to quickly dump semiconductor stocks on risk-off days, even though the immediate effect on sales remains unclear. Headlines are influencing these moves once again.
In Washington, the House Foreign Affairs Committee is set to review a bill that would give Congress 30 days to review and potentially block export licenses for advanced AI chips. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei cautioned, “It would be a big mistake to ship these chips.” 2
Bloomberg News says Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang plans a trip to China in late January, hoping to restore the company’s foothold in a key market for its AI chips. Nvidia has not commented, and Reuters could not verify the report right away. 3
Supply-chain players are already raising red flags about the uncertainty. Taiwan’s Inventec, a server maker that builds AI systems using Nvidia parts, says the future of Nvidia’s H200 chip in China “appears to be stuck on the China side.” Inventec President Jack Tsai explained: “Basically, the United States is open to it, but at the moment it appears to be stuck on the China side.” 4
China’s customs officials told agents last week that H200 chips are not allowed to enter the country, Reuters reported. Whether this is a formal ban or a temporary measure remains unclear. “Beijing is … pushing to see what bigger concessions they can get,” said Reva Goujon, a geopolitical strategist at Rhodium Group. 5
The U.S. reaction has been sharp as well. After the Trump administration gave the green light to H200 sales to China under specific terms, a Nvidia spokesperson said, “America should always want its industry to compete for vetted and approved commercial business, supporting real jobs for real Americans.” 6
Nvidia is trying to recover after Tuesday’s tech sell-off that dragged the S&P 500 down 2.06% and the Nasdaq 2.39%. The chip giant itself closed 4.38% lower. Broadcom also suffered, sliding 5.43%. Intel, however, bucked the trend with a 3.41% rise. 7
The near-term outlook depends squarely on policy decisions. If Congress moves to slow, review, or block export licenses—the permits needed to ship advanced chips abroad—or if China keeps its restrictions in place, buyers could delay orders, pushing producers to rethink their manufacturing strategies.
Investors are zeroing in on Wednesday’s committee vote in Washington, while also watching for fresh details on Huang’s late-January plans for China. The H200 shipment route remains the key trigger, ready to shift sentiment either way.
