New York, January 21, 2026, 16:07 EST — After-hours
Nvidia shares climbed 3.2%, closing at $183.85 in late trading Wednesday after fluctuating between $177.96 and $185.34 earlier in the session.
The stock rallied after news surfaced that CEO Jensen Huang is set to visit China in late January, aiming to reopen a key market for Nvidia’s AI chips. This follows U.S. approval last week for H200 chip sales to China under certain conditions, even though Chinese customs reportedly blocked the shipments. Nvidia declined to comment, and Reuters said it couldn’t immediately confirm Bloomberg’s report.
In Washington, a U.S. House panel moved forward with a bill granting Congress a chance to review—and possibly block—export licenses for advanced AI chips. The latest draft also prohibits Nvidia’s high-end Blackwell chips, Reuters reported. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called shipping chips like the H200 “a big mistake,” likening it to “selling nuclear weapons to North Korea.” The bill still faces approval from both the full House and Senate. Reuters
Policy uncertainty is creeping into expectations for Nvidia’s upcoming earnings, as investors zero in on any news about China demand and supply issues. The company is set to report its results on Feb. 25.
The broader market got a lift as well. U.S. stocks bounced after President Donald Trump announced that tariffs set to kick in on Feb. 1 were off the table, following a framework agreement on a future Greenland deal. The S&P 500 climbed 1.51%, while the Nasdaq rose 1.66%.
Chip stocks outperformed. The iShares Semiconductor ETF climbed roughly 3.3%, with AMD surging 7.8%, Micron up about 6.3%, and Marvell advancing close to 3.4%. Broadcom, however, fell around 1.4%.
In Asia, Taiwanese server manufacturer Inventec highlighted the bottleneck investors have been debating for days. “It depends on the political direction,” Inventec President Jack Tsai said at a press conference, noting the problem “appears to be stuck on the China side.” Reuters
On the Street, JPMorgan analyst Harlan Sur highlighted in a note that “AI-driven demand” alongside better cyclical trends are expected to keep semiconductor fundamentals strong through 2026. He singled out Nvidia as one of his favorite picks heading into earnings season. Benzinga
The China story is a double-edged sword. Should approvals drag or export rules tighten once more, investors will factor in shipment delays and a choppier quarter. A clearer path back into China would probably push sentiment the other way.
Intel’s earnings hit the tape Thursday after the bell. Investors keep a close eye on its data-center updates, which often signal trends in the hardware spending that drives Nvidia’s orders.
Nvidia’s next key date is Feb. 25, with investors focused on any updates regarding China access, export restrictions, and demand trends ahead of the March quarter.
