NEW YORK, Jan 6, 2026, 06:40 EST — Premarket
- AI-focused ETFs traded mixed-to-firmer in U.S. premarket dealings as CES chip announcements kept the sector in focus. Reuters
- Nvidia outlined its next-generation Vera Rubin platform, while Intel launched its Panther Lake laptop chip tied to its 18A process. Reuters
- Traders are watching rate expectations ahead of the U.S. jobs report due Friday, Jan. 9, at 8:30 a.m. ET.
AI-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs) — baskets of stocks that trade like a single share — were mostly higher in U.S. premarket trading on Tuesday after Nvidia laid out fresh details on its next-generation AI chips at the CES tech show in Las Vegas. Roundhill’s Generative AI & Technology ETF (CHAT) rose about 0.7% and Global X’s Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF (AIQ) gained about 1.1%. Reuters
The moves matter because AI ETFs have become a fast on-ramp into a trade dominated by a handful of large chip and cloud names, leaving performance sensitive to a small set of earnings and product headlines. That concentration is under scrutiny after Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio warned on Monday that the AI boom is “now in the early stages of a bubble.” Reuters
Rate policy is the other swing factor. A Reuters markets outlook published on Tuesday flagged the pending nomination of a new Federal Reserve chair in early January as a key event, while noting that markets forecast more rate cuts this year. (See: Reuters markets watch list). Reuters
In premarket dealing, Global X’s Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF (BOTZ) climbed about 2.4% and WisdomTree’s Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Fund (WTAI) rose about 0.9%. Nvidia shares were down about 0.4% and AMD slipped about 1.1%, while Alphabet rose about 0.5% and Taiwan Semiconductor gained about 0.8%.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the company’s next-generation chips are in “full production” and can deliver “five times” the AI computing of its prior chips for chatbots and other applications, Reuters reported. He said the flagship Vera Rubin server will contain 72 graphics processing units and 36 central processors, and can boost efficiency in producing “tokens,” the basic units of text output generated by AI models. (See: Reuters on Nvidia at CES). Reuters
Intel, also at CES, launched its Panther Lake laptop chip as it tries to reassure investors about its 18A manufacturing process and claw back share from AMD, a separate Reuters report said. The story also cited AMD’s multibillion-dollar deal with OpenAI for next-generation MI400 chips that the companies plan to deploy this year. (See: Reuters on Intel’s Panther Lake). Reuters
But the downside case is getting louder. Dalio said “there are big questions about Fed policy and productivity growth ahead,” and Reuters’ markets outlook noted that doubts about returns on AI investment — and the debt some firms are taking on to fund data centers — are starting to creep in. eToro strategist Lale Akoner also warned that an overly aggressive easing cycle could “reignite inflation,” a shift that would typically hit long-duration growth stocks that dominate many AI ETFs. (See: Reuters on Dalio’s bubble warning). Reuters
Investors will watch for more CES read-through on demand and competition in AI chips — particularly Nvidia versus AMD and Alphabet’s Google — but the next scheduled macro catalyst is Friday’s U.S. employment report for December, due at 8:30 a.m. ET. (See: BLS release calendar).
