New York, Feb 7, 2026, 15:53 ET — The market has closed.
- Intel finished Friday ahead by 4.87%, pushing its shares back over the $50 mark.
- Intel drew renewed attention heading into the week, driven by supply updates from China and news of a new AI-chip investment.
- Next week brings delayed U.S. jobs and inflation numbers, which could jolt tech and chip shares.
Intel finished Friday up 4.87% at $50.59, rebounding after two days in the red as U.S. equities jumped. Nvidia rallied 7.87%. Broadcom tacked on 7.22%. The S&P 500 advanced 1.97%; the Dow managed a 2.47% climb. 1
U.S. markets are closed for the weekend, so attention turns to Monday, when traders will see if the bid sticks as AI hardware stocks get repriced after a wild week. “There’s enough evidence that there’s real demand for AI products,” said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird. 2
China’s putting Intel back in focus. Both Intel and AMD have told customers in the country to brace for server CPU supply shortages, according to people familiar with the situation. Delivery for Intel chips could stretch out as far as six months. Intel told Reuters that soaring AI adoption is fueling heavy demand for “traditional compute”—the basic processing power still handling most data-center tasks. 3
Deal chatter is swirling again. Vista Equity Partners is set to anchor a fresh funding round north of $350 million for AI chip maker SambaNova Systems, according to sources speaking with Reuters. Intel, for its part, is expected to put in around $100 million, with a possible bump up to $150 million. SambaNova, focused on AI inference hardware—chips that power already-trained models—looks to give customers an alternative to Nvidia’s entrenched GPUs. 4
Intel kicked off Friday at $49.10 and moved in a range from $48.83 up to $51.30, Yahoo Finance data showed. Roughly 115.4 million shares changed hands. 5
Market sentiment is still shaky. That projected $600 billion jump in AI spending for 2026 has investors second-guessing whether growth can keep pace with lofty valuations, and lately, the market has been less forgiving when it comes to AI news. “Headlines that would have pushed shares to fresh highs during the peak of AI optimism are now being interpreted far more cautiously by investors,” said Carlota Estragues Lopez, equity strategist at St. James’s Place. 6
Macro could grab the spotlight fast next week, with the brief U.S. funding snag pushing key reports off schedule: January’s jobs numbers hit Wednesday, Feb. 11, and the CPI lands Friday, Feb. 13, according to MarketWatch. For chipmakers and other tech that’s rate-sensitive, those releases might jolt rate expectations sharply. 7
Both the Employment Situation on Feb. 11 and the CPI on Feb. 13 are set for 8:30 a.m. ET, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics schedule. 8
But the picture isn’t one-sided. Tight supply in China tends to hold up prices, but it might also limit shipment volumes and trigger renewed questions about customer mix and export restrictions. SambaNova’s funding round, still in negotiations, offers no clear signal for Intel’s near-term earnings just yet.
Traders are eyeing Intel as the new session approaches, gauging if Friday’s pop sticks—or if the AI names drag it lower again. Any fresh details about China server-CPU lead times or SambaNova’s deal terms could jolt the shares. But right now, the real triggers are Wednesday’s U.S. jobs numbers and Friday’s CPI release.
