NEW YORK, January 1, 2026, 12:48 ET — Market closed
- U.S. stock markets are shut Thursday for New Year’s Day; trading resumes Friday.
- Nvidia approached TSMC about boosting output of its H200 AI chip as Chinese orders surged, sources told Reuters.
- Traders head into the first session of 2026 watching China approval signals, chip supply constraints and Nvidia’s Feb. 25 results.
Nvidia has approached Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co about ramping output of its H200 artificial intelligence chip as demand from Chinese technology firms accelerates, sources told Reuters.
The China demand story lands as investors gauge whether the AI trade can extend after it powered much of Wall Street’s 2025 gains and pushed major U.S. indexes to record highs, Reuters reported. Nvidia rose 39% in 2025 and became the first publicly traded company to top $5 trillion in market value, the report said.
The H200 is a data-center graphics processor used to train and run large AI models. A sudden step-up in orders has put supply back under a microscope as Nvidia balances China demand against constrained capacity elsewhere.
U.S. markets are closed on Thursday for the holiday, and trading resumes Friday, according to the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq calendars. Wall Street ended 2025 with the S&P 500 down 0.74% and the Nasdaq Composite off 0.76% on Wednesday.
In Wednesday’s final regular session, Nvidia shares fell 0.5% to $186.50. Microsoft slid 0.8%, while Advanced Micro Devices fell 0.5% and Broadcom lost 1.1%; the iShares Semiconductor ETF dropped 1.2%.
Chinese companies have placed orders for more than 2 million H200 chips for delivery in 2026, far above Nvidia’s current inventory of about 700,000 units, two people familiar with the matter said. A third source said Nvidia asked TSMC to begin producing additional chips in the second quarter of 2026.
Nvidia has decided which H200 variants it will offer to Chinese clients and set pricing around $27,000 per chip, the sources said. It plans to fulfill initial orders from existing stock, with the first batch expected to arrive before the Lunar New Year holiday in mid-February, Reuters reported.
The H200 is part of Nvidia’s previous-generation “Hopper” lineup and uses TSMC’s 4-nanometre manufacturing process. Reuters said the potential order would expand H200 production at a time Nvidia has been focused on ramping its newer Blackwell chips and developing its next Rubin line. Reuters
Regulatory uncertainty hangs over the trade. Reuters reported Beijing has yet to greenlight any H200 shipments even after the Trump administration recently allowed exports to China subject to a 25% fee, and one proposal under consideration would require bundling purchases with a ratio of domestically produced chips.
Investors also parsed a separate U.S. export move affecting chip supply chains. The U.S. government granted TSMC an annual licence to import U.S. chipmaking tools for its Nanjing facility, and TSMC said the approval would keep operations and deliveries running; the plant makes older, 16-nanometre “mature node” chips used in less advanced products. Reuters
Some investors treated the late-December drift as profit-taking in thin holiday trading. “It’s perfectly fine in any bull market to have moments of cost,” said Giuseppe Sette, co-founder and president of Reflexivity. Reuters
Before Friday’s open, traders will watch for follow-through on the Reuters report and for any new signals from Chinese regulators on H200 imports. They will also watch key price levels after Wednesday’s dip, with Nvidia trading between $186.26 and $190.51 in the last session, according to market data.
Nvidia’s next scheduled catalyst is its fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Feb. 25, according to the company’s events calendar. Investors will focus on data-center revenue, capacity and any guidance on China-related demand.
For AI stocks, the start of 2026 puts the same variables back on the tape: chip supply, export rules and the pace of spending by big cloud and internet customers. Scarcity can support pricing, but it can also cap shipments and invite fresh policy scrutiny.
