New York, January 14, 2026, 06:27 EST — Premarket
- Before the open, Nvidia shares rose roughly 0.5%, following reports of new restrictions from China on its H200 AI chips
- The move conflicts with a recent U.S. framework that had allowed H200 exports to China, but only under specific conditions
- Traders await clear signals from Beijing alongside fresh data on AI chip demand from major suppliers
Nvidia shares inched up about 0.5% to $185.81 in U.S. premarket trading Wednesday, despite reports that Chinese customs officials told agents the company’s H200 AI chips aren’t allowed into China. Sources briefed on the situation said Beijing also warned local tech firms against buying the chips unless absolutely necessary. Rhodium Group strategist Reva Goujon suggested China might be “pushing to see what bigger concessions they can get” ahead of President Donald Trump’s planned April visit. 1
The mixed signals are crucial now since the H200 occupies a central spot in the AI spending cycle — those expensive data-center chips firms rely on to train and operate large AI models. Export controls, or government restrictions on what can be sent overseas, have turned into a volatile factor for chip stocks from week to week.
Washington reversed course. On Tuesday, the Trump administration officially approved China-bound sales of Nvidia’s H200 chips, imposing rules that require third-party testing to confirm the chips’ specs and set limits linked to U.S. customer usage, per the regulations. Trump had previously announced the deal would carry a 25% fee for the U.S. government. Nvidia called the policy “a thoughtful balance,” while Seaport Research analyst Jay Goldberg labeled it “a Band-Aid” that might be hard to enforce. 2
At the same time, Beijing has been signaling caution. The Chinese government told some tech firms that H200 purchases would be approved only under special conditions, like university research. It also issued a deliberately vague order, allowing buys only when “necessary.” Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy, said that smooth development of economic, trade, and tech cooperation serves the “common interest” of both nations. 3
Outside the export dispute, Nvidia is ramping up its presence in healthcare and life sciences. This week, Nvidia and Eli Lilly announced plans to invest $1 billion over five years in a joint research lab in the San Francisco Bay Area. The lab aims to accelerate drug discovery and development through AI, with the exact site to be revealed later. 4
In the AI chip sector, investors reacted swiftly to news shifts. AMD surged over 6% Tuesday following a KeyBanc upgrade, which highlighted robust demand for server CPUs—those crucial data center chips—from hyperscalers, the major cloud players buying in bulk. 5
The wider market isn’t exactly rolling out the red carpet for chip bulls. U.S. stock index futures edged lower ahead of key bank earnings and a batch of economic data that investors lean on to gauge interest rate moves. 6
The near-term risk for Nvidia is clear: getting approval on paper doesn’t mean shipments will follow. If China continues to block the border or drags out “necessary” approvals, the H200 might become another stop-start product right when investors are trying to nail down revenue forecasts for 2026.
Traders are gearing up for Taiwan Semiconductor’s Q4 earnings call on January 15, hunting for insights on AI-driven demand and capacity constraints — critical factors that could shape how quickly Nvidia and others can roll out hardware. 7
Nvidia’s next key date is its fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings release on February 25. Investors will focus on any updates about demand in China and how the new export rules are affecting the business. 8
