New York, Feb 1, 2026, 18:04 EST — Market closed
- Intel shares dropped 4.4% to close Friday at $46.47, weighed down by a wider tech sector selloff.
- Rate-sensitive stocks fell amid concerns over a looming partial U.S. government shutdown and the White House’s announcement of its Fed nominee.
- This week spotlights chip-sector earnings, starting with AMD on Feb. 3 and Qualcomm following on Feb. 4, all ahead of the U.S. jobs report set for Feb. 6.
Intel shares closed Friday down 4.4% at $46.47, trading within a range of $45.93 to $49.41 throughout the day. The chipmaker enters Monday’s session under noticeable pressure.
With U.S. markets closed Sunday, attention turns to last week’s sell-off. Intel has started to act more like a rates play—volatile moves, little patience, and heavy positioning as investors brace for the next update.
Wall Street’s main indexes ended Friday in the red, reacting to Donald Trump’s pick of Kevin Warsh as Jerome Powell’s Federal Reserve successor. Investors also faced a scorching inflation report alongside mixed earnings from megacap firms. “Markets are calibrating” to the new nominee, noted Michael Hans of Citizens Wealth. Meanwhile, Angelo Kourkafas at Edward Jones pointed to a host of concerns that are dampening risk appetite all at once. (Reuters)
Washington grabbed attention again as the U.S. government partially shut down Saturday after Congress missed the funding deadline. On Sunday, Mike Johnson expressed confidence in lining up enough votes to end the shutdown by Tuesday. Should the impasse drag into this week’s key data and earnings, expect volatility to surge. (Reuters)
Intel’s main catalyst is its late-January reset. On Jan. 22, the company reported Q4 revenue of $13.7 billion and forecasted Q1 sales ranging from $11.7 billion to $12.7 billion. Non-GAAP EPS, excluding certain items, is expected to come in at $0.00. CEO Lip-Bu Tan highlighted efforts to ramp up supply, while CFO David Zinsner said supply will hit “its lowest level in Q1” before improving. (Intel Corporation)
Intel’s shares fell sharply last week, dropping 14% on Jan. 23. The decline came after the company flagged supply constraints that limited its ability to meet strong AI-driven demand for data-center chips. Its outlook also missed analyst expectations. (Reuters)
Investors are watching closely to see if Intel can turn strong server demand into better financials—and whether its PC business can stay stable. UBS analysts warned that rising memory prices could hit PC sales, since memory makes up 25% to 30% of a PC’s bill of materials, Reuters reported. This underlines how the sector’s costs extend well beyond just the CPU. (Reuters)
Advanced Micro Devices plans to report its quarterly earnings on Tuesday, Feb. 3, after the market closes. The company’s outlook on PCs and servers often shapes Intel’s core competitive landscape. (AMD)
Qualcomm is set to release its earnings Wednesday, Feb. 4, after the market closes. The report will shed light on consumer-device trends and chip pricing shifts. (Qualcomm Investor Relations)
The U.S. January jobs report will be released Friday, Feb. 6, at 8:30 a.m. ET. This number often rattles bond yields fast, sparking sharp moves in interest-rate-sensitive tech shares. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Intel bulls confront a clear but serious threat: should supply shortages drag on past management’s forecast, or if customers hesitate on contract chip production deals, rallies may quickly unravel in a market already on edge over rates and politics.
Traders on Monday will watch closely to see if Friday’s drop triggers a larger sell-off. Shutdown updates, chip earnings set for Feb. 3–4, and payroll figures on Feb. 6 will also be in focus, as they could sway Intel’s stock moves.
