New York, Jan 28, 2026, 10:03 (EST) — Regular session.
Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O) were up about 1.9% at $256.72 in morning trade on Wednesday, after closing at $252.03 in the prior session. The stock hit an intraday high of $258.65.
The move came with a broader lift in chip shares that helped push the S&P 500 above the 7,000 mark at the open as investors awaited a Federal Reserve rate decision and a wave of Big Tech earnings. The Nasdaq was up about 0.6% in early trade. 1
For AMD holders, the next hard catalyst is its quarterly report next week, with the focus on data-center demand and the pace of its artificial-intelligence chip business. AMD said it will report fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results after the market close on Feb. 3 and hold a conference call at 5 p.m. EST. 2
Chip sentiment also drew support after Reuters reported China had approved ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent to buy more than 400,000 of Nvidia’s H200 AI chips, in a shift that could ease a key bottleneck for AI hardware. The approvals come with conditions and some customers have not converted them into orders, the report said. 3
A strong outlook from Texas Instruments added to the “AI spreads beyond one name” narrative in semis. Morgan Stanley analysts said “TI will participate in the upturn,” but flagged capital spending — capex — as a swing factor for demand across the chain. 4
In Europe, ASML reported fourth-quarter bookings that beat expectations and raised its 2026 sales outlook, a sign that chipmakers are still ordering equipment to build out AI-related capacity. The company also said it plans to cut about 1,700 jobs. 5
On the Street, Piper Sandler analyst Harsh Kumar raised his price target on AMD to $300 from $280 and reiterated an overweight rating, writing: “We remain very enthusiastic about AMD’s prospects going into 2026.” The stock is up about 18% so far in January, the note said. 6
AMD sells server processors and AI accelerators, including graphics processing units (GPUs) — chips used to train and run AI models. It competes with Nvidia in accelerators and with Intel in data-center and PC processors.
But the trade is getting harder to hide behind broad “AI spend” talk. In a Reuters analysis of the coming Big Tech results, investors were shown pressing for proof that the massive cash outlays translate into revenue, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella warned at Davos that for AI to avoid being “a bubble,” the benefits need to spread more evenly. 7
A rate surprise later in the day would be another risk for high-growth chip stocks. So would any hint from the biggest cloud buyers that data-center buildouts are being delayed or re-scoped.
Investors now turn to the Fed decision later on Wednesday, and to what megacap tech says about spending plans. AMD’s own update lands after the close on Feb. 3.
