New York, January 29, 2026, 09:38 EST — Regular session
NVIDIA shares climbed 1.6% to $191.52 early Thursday after CEO Jensen Huang revealed China is still finalising the licence for its H200 chip, the company’s second most powerful AI processor. “The actual license for H200 is being finalised,” Huang said to reporters in Taipei. Reuters also reported that China has approved ByteDance, Alibaba, and Tencent to purchase over 400,000 H200 chips, though no purchase orders have followed yet. 1
The headline matters as traders sift through which approvals actually unlock shipments and which merely add to the backlog. For Nvidia, a China “yes” under strict conditions could still translate into a trickle of deliveries.
Capex — spending on assets like data centers — is another key factor. Meta Platforms boosted its capex budget by 73% alongside a strong revenue forecast. Tesla announced plans to more than double its capital expenditure. Microsoft, however, slid after cloud revenue came in below expectations, Reuters reported. “Maybe a bit of de-risking going into the print,” said Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist at LPL Financial. 2
Investors have swung Nvidia shares between customer budget concerns and export news, sometimes within the same hour. That volatility can make the stock twitchy, even on minimal updates.
Chip stocks opened mostly higher Thursday. Intel surged roughly 11%, and Micron climbed about 6%. The iShares Semiconductor ETF added close to 2.7%, while AMD held steady with little change.
The sector was already firing on all cylinders following Wednesday’s rally, fueled by strong earnings from Texas Instruments and a solid quarter from chip equipment maker ASML, Reuters reported. “Companies across the broader supply chain … are reporting that conditions are improving,” said Louise Dudley, a portfolio manager for global equities at Federated Hermes. 3
Nvidia grabbed attention after a report surfaced that it, along with Amazon and Microsoft, is in talks to invest as much as $60 billion in OpenAI. Reuters, citing The Information, said Nvidia’s potential share could reach $30 billion. Reuters couldn’t immediately verify the story; Amazon and Microsoft declined to comment. Nvidia and OpenAI didn’t respond outside regular business hours. 4
Big Tech earnings are shining a light on the cost of AI expansion, as these giants are also Nvidia’s biggest customers. Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, and Alphabet are projected to boost AI spending by roughly 30%, pushing the total past $500 billion by 2026, Reuters reported. “Like in the internet boom, the first-mover advantage doesn’t always win the marathon,” said David Wagner, head of equities at Aptus Capital Advisors. 5
Nvidia’s ties to China are sparking political scrutiny. A U.S. lawmaker accused the company of aiding Chinese AI firm DeepSeek in refining models that China’s military later deployed. In a letter, the lawmaker called for stricter licensing and enforcement. Nvidia pushed back, saying “it makes no sense for the Chinese military to depend on American technology.” 6
Nvidia plans to release its fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter results via webcast on Feb. 25 at 2 p.m. PT (5 p.m. ET), per its investor relations calendar. Investors will be watching closely for guidance on data-center demand, supply issues, and any updates concerning shipments to China, which could move the stock. 7
