NEW YORK, Jan 12, 2026, 13:03 EST — Regular session
- Shares climbed roughly 10% in early afternoon trading, building on gains from last week
- China-linked ADRs led gains, while peer VNET also climbed
- Traders zeroed in on DayOne’s new financing and Tuesday’s U.S. inflation report
Shares of GDS Holdings Limited surged in early afternoon trading Monday, riding a broader rally in U.S.-listed Chinese stocks and building on momentum from a major funding round at DayOne Data Centers. The Nasdaq-listed stock climbed 9.8% to $44.98, peaking intraday at $45.93.
This move is crucial as investors assess how much capital the AI-driven data center expansion can still draw—and at what cost. A major private equity deal in the space offers the market a fresh benchmark amid ongoing shifts in rate expectations.
China ADRs mostly climbed, with the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index rising 4.3%. Shares of data center operator VNET Group jumped roughly 9.1% during U.S. trading.
DayOne grabbed attention by pulling in over $2 billion in Series C equity funding—a late-stage private round led by Coatue, with Indonesia Investment Authority also pitching in. The cash will bankroll hyperscale campuses in Finland and fuel growth across Singapore, Malaysia’s Johor, Indonesia’s Batam, Thailand, Japan, and Hong Kong. The company said this round came at a 100% premium over its previous raise but didn’t reveal a valuation. (Reuters)
GDS revealed the DayOne announcement in a Form 6-K filing, highlighting “secured customer commitments” around 1 gigawatt (GW) of power — a key indicator of upcoming data center demand. CEO Jamie Khoo described the investment as a sign of “deep confidence in DayOne’s platform quality,” and Coatue’s Robert Yin added that DayOne was “exceeding our expectations.”
Data center operators usually face big upfront costs and rely on years of contracted revenue to see returns, keeping access to capital a constant challenge. This latest deal also taps into “AI-ready” capacity — setups designed for higher-density computing with features like liquid cooling — a segment investors have been eager to pay a premium for.
Rates continue to drive the market. On Monday, multiple Wall Street banks delayed their projections for U.S. rate cuts, while market pricing suggested a strong chance the Federal Reserve will keep policy unchanged at its January meeting, Reuters reported.
Yet the rally could stumble. Headlines around financing often lose steam if new builds outpace customer demand. Investors might also balk if DayOne’s expansion fails to boost GDS results promptly enough.
Tuesday brings the December U.S. consumer price index report at 8:30 a.m. EST, with the producer price index due on Wednesday. All eyes then turn to the Fed’s meeting on Jan. 27-28. These data points could shake up rate expectations—and with them, the valuations investors assign to capital-hungry data center stocks.
