New York, Jan 17, 2026, 06:13 EST — Market closed
- On Friday, Nvidia shares slipped 0.5%, closing at $186.23
- A report revealed that Chinese customs has halted imports of Nvidia’s H200 AI chips, causing suppliers to temporarily suspend production
- RBC kicked off coverage with an Outperform rating; meanwhile, a filing revealed CFO Colette Kress sold shares following a pre-set plan
NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) shares slipped 0.5% to close at $186.23 on Friday, following a Financial Times report that Chinese customs have halted shipments of its recently approved H200 AI chips. This move forced parts suppliers to pause production. According to the report, Nvidia anticipated over 1 million orders from Chinese customers, though Reuters couldn’t immediately confirm this. Nvidia declined to comment. 1
U.S. markets are closed until Tuesday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, so investors can’t react right away to the latest China news. That’s significant for Nvidia, given how the H200 chip is caught up in a rapidly evolving policy battle between Washington and Beijing — and the situation remains complicated. 2
The Trump administration’s move to resume H200 sales to China is facing immediate criticism in Washington. At a congressional hearing, Matt Pottinger, a former senior White House Asia adviser, argued the administration was headed down the “wrong track.” Meanwhile, a Nvidia spokesperson emphasized that “America should always want its industry to compete for vetted and approved commercial business.” 3
RBC Capital’s Srini Pajjuri kicked off coverage of Nvidia with an Outperform rating and set a $240 price target, suggesting roughly 29% upside from Friday’s close. The firm sees “limited threat” to Nvidia’s AI full-stack lead, despite gains by ASICs—those task-specific chips—and competitors like Advanced Micro Devices. RBC also expects any slowdown in hyperscaler capex, referring to major cloud data-center spenders, to come gradually. 4
A filing this week revealed that Nvidia’s CFO and executive vice president, Colette Kress, sold 47,640 shares on Jan. 13. The shares went for weighted average prices between roughly $183.52 and $188.09. According to the Form 4, these transactions were executed under a Rule 10b5-1 plan, which allows insiders to set up stock sales in advance. 5
The broader market slipped into the weekend. Major U.S. indexes finished Friday just a touch lower as earnings season kicked off. The Nasdaq fell 0.1%, while the S&P 500 also dipped 0.1%, according to an Associated Press market recap. 6
Policy risk isn’t limited to export controls. South Korea’s trade minister highlighted a new U.S. proclamation slapping a 25% tariff on certain advanced AI chips. Initially, the tariffs target chips made by Nvidia and AMD, while memory chips are left out. The White House clarified these duties are tightly focused and won’t cover chips imported for U.S. data centers or several other categories. 7
There is a clear downside risk. Should China’s customs authorities impose an outright ban, the chances of restarting shipments would shrink quickly. That would force the market to price in a sharper drop in near-term demand than most analysts currently expect.
Investors are eyeing any update from Nvidia, alongside clearer guidance from Chinese officials on whether the H200 block is a temporary measure or a longer-term policy. The way U.S. tariffs get enforced—and whether they expand—will also play a key role in pricing and supply chain dynamics.
