NEW YORK, January 1, 2026, 05:56 ET — Market closed.
Intel Corp (INTC) shares ended 2025 on a down note as U.S. markets shut on Thursday for the New Year’s Day holiday. The stock closed down 1.0% at $36.90 on Wednesday, after trading between $36.82 and $38.01, with about 51.5 million shares changing hands.
The holiday pause lands after a choppy year-end stretch that has pushed investors to reassess big-tech and chip exposure heading into 2026. For Intel, the next leg hinges on whether its turnaround can show up in margins and cash flow, not just headlines.
That focus has sharpened since Intel confirmed a major cash injection from a key AI-industry partner. In a Dec. 29 filing, Intel said it completed the issuance and sale of about 214.8 million shares to Nvidia for $5 billion in cash, at $23.28 per share, under a private placement tied to a September agreement.
Wall Street ended the final session of 2025 lower in holiday-thin trading, with the S&P 500 down 0.74% and the Nasdaq off 0.76%, and technology among the weakest sectors, Reuters reported. “It’s perfectly fine in any bull market to have moments of cost,” said Giuseppe Sette, co-founder and president of Reflexivity. Reuters
Chip peers were mixed in the year-end tape. Nvidia fell about 0.5% and AMD lost about 0.5%, while U.S.-listed Taiwan Semiconductor rose about 1.4%.
Intel’s stock has remained sensitive to shifts in AI-related sentiment because the company is trying to win outside customers for its foundry business — contract chipmaking for others — while defending its core PC and server processor franchises.
The Nvidia investment adds cash and a high-profile vote of confidence, but it also raises the bar for execution. Investors are watching for clearer signs that Intel can translate advanced manufacturing plans into customer commitments and higher profitability.
Before the next session, traders will watch whether year-end positioning reverses as volumes return when markets reopen on Friday. A broader risk-on or risk-off move in large-cap tech can still tug Intel along, even on days without company-specific news.
Macro policy expectations remain a key lever for chip valuations. Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide, said investors were rebalancing tech allocations rather than panic-selling, and the Federal Reserve next meets on Jan. 27-28, with markets expecting it to keep rates unchanged, Reuters reported.
Intel has not posted a date for its next earnings event; its investor relations calendar currently lists no upcoming events. That leaves traders leaning more heavily on guidance milestones and broader earnings-season signals to frame near-term positions.
