New York, January 25, 2026, 09:31 EST — Market closed.
- Nvidia shares closed Friday higher, gaining 1.5% to $187.67.
- CEO Jensen Huang is in Shanghai, where investors are hunting for clues about Nvidia’s H200 AI chip gaining access to China.
- Coming up this week: a Fed decision and major tech earnings reports, both poised to shake up sentiment on AI-driven stocks.
Nvidia (NVDA) shares enter Monday’s session with renewed focus on China, following CEO Jensen Huang’s trip to Shanghai. The visit comes amid fresh uncertainty about whether the company’s latest data-center chips will continue to be shipped into the country.
This is significant since China is both a major and politically delicate market for Nvidia’s AI hardware. At the same time, Beijing is promoting domestic competitors and regulators are ramping up scrutiny of U.S. suppliers.
This week promises to be volatile for investors. With a Federal Reserve decision on the horizon and a packed schedule of big-tech earnings, traders might have to swiftly adjust their bets on the “AI trade,” pushing Nvidia’s stock along for the ride.
Huang plans to attend an Nvidia event in Shanghai before heading to Beijing, Shenzhen, and then Taiwan, according to sources familiar with the itinerary who spoke to Reuters. Nvidia declined to comment, with Reuters reporting that the company is awaiting Beijing’s green light on whether it can sell its high-powered H200 AI chip to Chinese buyers, following approval from the U.S.
Nvidia shares closed Friday at $187.67, rising 2.83 points, or 1.5%, from the previous session. During the day, the stock fluctuated between $183.50 and $189.45, with roughly 142.7 million shares changing hands.
In the wider market, Nvidia climbed while Intel dropped after a disappointing outlook shook chip stocks. The Dow closed lower, though the Nasdaq inched up, Reuters reported. Nvidia’s boost came after Bloomberg News said Chinese officials told Alibaba, Tencent and ByteDance to get ready to place orders for Nvidia’s H200 chips. Traders saw this as a possible crack in the door, even if the policy environment remains unclear. “Going into results, we’re going to be in a ‘show-me’ period,” said Janus Henderson portfolio manager Julian McManus, pointing to the need for revenue growth to justify the recent surge in AI stocks. Reuters
Governance is another area raising concerns. In an 8-K filing — a U.S. regulatory form for significant corporate updates — Nvidia announced that director Persis Drell has stepped down from the board and the compensation committee, effective immediately. The company clarified the departure wasn’t linked to any disagreements.
Next week’s schedule could complicate trading the stock purely on fundamentals. “It’s been a short but sharp roller-coaster ride over the past several days,” said Yung-Yu Ma, chief investment strategist at PNC Financial Services Group. Franklin Templeton strategist Chris Galipeau added, “at the end of the day, earnings are the driver,” in a Reuters Week Ahead piece highlighting a packed calendar of mega-cap earnings and a Fed meeting. Reuters
The risk is clear: if Chinese regulators clamp down on what passes through customs, or if U.S. tech earnings fall short and reignite skepticism about data-center spending returns, Nvidia could take a hit. The stock already reflects a lot of optimism.
Nvidia’s next major event is set for February 25, when it will release its fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings, per its investor events calendar.
Markets are set to focus on the Fed’s policy decision on January 28. The central bank will issue its statement at 2:00 p.m. ET, with a press conference scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET.
