New York, Feb 1, 2026, 18:04 EST — Market closed
- Intel shares ended Friday at $46.47, slipping 4.4% amid a broader selloff in tech stocks.
- Rate-sensitive stocks took a hit as a partial U.S. government shutdown loomed and the White House announced its Fed nominee.
- This week zeroes in on chip-sector earnings with AMD reporting on Feb. 3 and Qualcomm on Feb. 4, capped by the U.S. jobs report due Feb. 6.
Intel shares ended Friday down 4.4% at $46.47, after moving between $45.93 and $49.41 during the day. The chipmaker heads into Monday’s session under pressure.
U.S. markets being closed on Sunday puts the spotlight on last week’s sell-off. Intel has been behaving more like a rates stock recently — sharp swings, little tolerance, and heavy positioning ahead of the next news.
Wall Street’s key indexes closed lower Friday, digesting Donald Trump’s choice of Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell at the Federal Reserve. Investors also grappled with a hot inflation report and mixed results from megacap stocks. “Markets are calibrating” to the nominee, said Michael Hans of Citizens Wealth, while Angelo Kourkafas at Edward Jones flagged a slew of worries weighing on risk appetite simultaneously. (Reuters)
Washington is back in focus: the U.S. government partially shut down on Saturday when Congress failed to meet the funding deadline. Mike Johnson said Sunday he anticipates securing enough votes to end the shutdown by Tuesday. If the standoff lingers into this week’s crucial data and earnings releases, volatility could spike. (Reuters)
Intel’s key trigger remains its late-January reset. On Jan. 22, the company reported fourth-quarter revenue of $13.7 billion and projected first-quarter sales between $11.7 billion and $12.7 billion, with non-GAAP EPS, excluding certain items, expected to hit $0.00. CEO Lip-Bu Tan said Intel is pushing hard to ramp up supply, while CFO David Zinsner noted that supply will be “at its lowest level in Q1” before picking up. (Intel Corporation)
Intel’s stock took a hit last week, plunging 14% on Jan. 23. The slide followed the company’s warning about supply bottlenecks that curbed its capacity to satisfy robust AI-related demand for data-center chips. Its forecast also came in below what analysts had anticipated. (Reuters)
Investors remain focused on whether Intel can convert robust server demand into stronger financial results—and if its PC segment will hold steady. UBS analysts cautioned that rising memory prices might dampen PC sales, noting memory accounts for 25% to 30% of a PC’s bill of materials, Reuters reported. This highlights the sector’s vulnerability to costs beyond just the CPU. (Reuters)
Advanced Micro Devices is set to release its quarterly earnings on Tuesday, Feb. 3, after markets close. The company’s forecast for PCs and servers frequently influences Intel’s key competitive areas. (AMD)
Qualcomm reports earnings Wednesday, Feb. 4, after the market closes, offering a fresh look at consumer-device trends and chip pricing dynamics. (Qualcomm Investor Relations)
The U.S. January employment report drops Friday, Feb. 6, at 8:30 a.m. ET. It’s a data point known to shake up bond yields quickly, which in turn can send tech stocks sensitive to interest rates on a rollercoaster. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Intel bulls face a straightforward but significant risk: if supply shortages persist beyond management’s timeline, or if clients stall on Intel’s contract chipmaking plans, any rallies could evaporate fast in a market already jittery over rates and politics.
On Monday, traders will be eyeing if Friday’s decline sparks a wider sell-off. They’ll also be tracking shutdown news, chip earnings scheduled for Feb. 3–4, and payroll data on Feb. 6 to see how these factors influence Intel’s stock swings.
