New York, Jan 22, 2026, 10:51 EST — Regular session
- Alibaba jumped roughly 6% following reports it plans to spin off its AI chip division, T-Head, for a separate listing
- Arm rallies over 5% amid strength in chip stocks; Nvidia inches up
- Intel is set to report after the bell, with investors focused on data-center demand and the company’s guidance.
Shares of Alibaba Group listed in the U.S. jumped 5.9% to $178.69 on Thursday after reports emerged that the Chinese tech giant plans to take its chip unit, T-Head, public. The news reignited interest in AI-related stocks during the morning session. Meanwhile, Arm gained 5.4%, and Nvidia saw a 0.9% rise. (Reuters)
These shifts carry weight as AI hardware now plays a central role in the broader market. Investors want to know if the rapid expansion of data centers will hold up to support the sector’s valuations, and if regulatory risks might resurface.
A calmer risk environment took hold. U.S. stocks started the day stronger after President Donald Trump softened his tariff threat against European nations, lifting the Nasdaq nearly 1% at the open. (Reuters)
Other AI leaders saw gains as well. AMD climbed 0.5%, Broadcom edged up 0.6%, and Super Micro Computer jumped 3.2%. Microsoft increased 0.7%, with Alphabet rising 1.0%.
Arm’s surge came after Susquehanna upgraded the chipmaker from “Neutral” to “Positive” just a day before, maintaining a $150 price target. The broker highlighted what it described as company-altering AI projects and an extended growth horizon in data centers. (Investing)
Intel slipped 0.2% to $54.16 as investors awaited its earnings report after the close. The chipmaker’s turnaround story is gaining traction, fueled by expectations of data-center expansions boosting demand for server CPUs — the core processors powering servers — along with GPUs, which are key for training AI models. Ryuta Makino, an analyst at Intel investor Gabelli Funds, predicted “at least a double-digit server CPU price hike in 2026.” According to LSEG data cited by Reuters, Intel’s data center segment is projected to have jumped over 30% in the December quarter. (Reuters)
The sector still wrestles with a policy cloud that could strike suddenly. A U.S. House committee moved forward a bill granting Congress 30 days to review—and possibly block—export licenses for advanced AI chips destined for China and other rivals. The latest draft reportedly bars Nvidia’s top-tier Blackwell chips, according to Reuters. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei sounded the alarm this week, comparing shipping those chips to “selling nuclear weapons to North Korea.” (Reuters)
At the moment, traders view Thursday’s action as a gauge of whether buyers remain willing to shell out for AI-linked assets — from chips to servers to cloud services — despite political pressures creeping in.
Intel’s earnings report arrives after the bell, with its outlook poised to reshape expectations across the chip sector heading into next week.
