New York, Feb 7, 2026, 09:33 (EST) — Market is closed.
- Nvidia finished Friday’s session up 7.87%, hitting $185.41, with chip stocks broadly higher heading into the weekend.
- Hardware stocks got a boost as Big Tech ramped up spending on AI data centers, though profit concerns weighed on a handful of customers.
- Next up for traders: the overdue U.S. jobs and inflation numbers. After that, Nvidia’s results land on Feb. 25.
Nvidia (NVDA) finished Friday with a 7.87% gain, ending the session at $185.41. Shares saw a range from $174.60 to $187.00 during the day. With U.S. markets now closed for the weekend, attention turns to Monday’s open for the next move. 1
Investors piled into chip stocks after Amazon announced plans to boost capital expenditures by more than 50% this year. Nvidia surged 7.8%. Advanced Micro Devices tacked on 8.3%, and Broadcom added 7.1%. The PHLX semiconductor index wrapped up the day 5.7% higher. 2
Why care now? The flood of spending has reignited the “AI build-out” narrative, but it’s also throwing valuation questions into sharper relief. Tech giants are gearing up to pour $600 billion into AI in 2026, a figure that’s stoking investor nerves. Andrew Wells, chief investment officer at SanJac Alpha, says the market’s already “pulled forward” years’ worth of earnings, with current prices banking on profits that are still a long way off. “Got too pricey,” he said, framing it as a “de-risking trade.” Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, in a CNBC interview, countered that demand remains “sky-high” and described the spending surge as both justified and sustainable. 3
Huang didn’t mince words, calling demand “going through the roof” and labeling AI adoption as being at an “inflection point”—that stage where things suddenly accelerate. He cast the surge as a large-scale infrastructure drive, fueled by cloud heavyweights loading up on Nvidia gear. 4
The Dow pushed past 50,000 and finished there Friday, marking its first-ever close above that level—a psychological milestone that follows a rough stretch for several tech stocks. “What’s driven it recently has been the broadening” beyond the tech and AI trade, said Chuck Carlson, chief executive officer at Horizon Investment Services. 5
The industry got a boost from its own data. The Semiconductor Industry Association projects global chip sales reaching $1 trillion in 2026, up from $791.7 billion in 2025. Sales of advanced computing chips — including Nvidia’s offerings — jumped 39.9% last year to $301.9 billion. SIA CEO John Neuffer summed up the mood after meeting with executives: “my orders are completely full.” 6
Wistron chairman Simon Lin pushed back on the notion of an AI bubble, saying order growth in 2026 should top last year’s numbers in Nvidia’s supply chain. Lin added the company can see orders stretching through 2027. The CEO pointed to new U.S. facilities linked to Nvidia, where volume production is slated for the first half of this year. 7
The AI trade is picking up speed, and the split between winners and losers is getting sharper. “Investors now demand proof that spending turns into returns and the market is ‘no longer tolerating spending for spending’s sake,’” said Mark Hawtin, head of global equities at Liontrust. Charu Chanana at Saxo points to a rift: on one side are the AI “enablers,” on the other, companies at risk of being disrupted. 8
Macro risk is back on the clock. S&P Global flagged that the U.S. jobs report, delayed by the federal government shutdown, will now drop Feb. 11, while CPI inflation data follows on Feb. 13. Both have the power to jolt rate-cut bets—and that spells volatility for high-growth megacaps. 9
Nvidia has set its sights on Feb. 25 for its next major event. The company plans to hold a conference call at 2 p.m. PT (5 p.m. ET) to go over results for both the fourth quarter and full fiscal year. Written commentary from the CFO will follow the release. 10
