NEW YORK, Jan 4, 2026, 12:49 ET — Market closed
- Nvidia closed up 1.2% on Friday as chip stocks outperformed to open 2026
- CEO Jensen Huang is due at CES on Jan. 5; U.S. payrolls follow on Jan. 9
- Traders are watching whether the early AI-chip bounce holds into a data-heavy week
Nvidia shares closed up 1.2% on Friday at $188.85, helping chipmakers lead Wall Street’s first trading day of 2026. The next read on the AI trade comes when U.S. markets reopen on Monday. 1
The move matters because chip stocks have become a fast way for investors to express a view on AI infrastructure spending — the servers, chips and networking that power AI systems. Friday’s rebound followed a late-December stumble that left markets without the typical “Santa Claus rally” into year-end. 1
The calendar is packed early. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is scheduled to headline a CES press conference in Las Vegas on Monday, and investors are also bracing for a U.S. jobs report on Friday that can reset interest-rate expectations in one print. 2
On Friday, the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index — a benchmark for major U.S. chip stocks — rose about 4%. Intel climbed 6.7% and AMD gained 4.3%, while Microsoft fell 2.2%; the Dow rose 0.66% and the S&P 500 added 0.19% as the Nasdaq slipped 0.03%, Reuters reported. 1
Joe Mazzola, head of trading and derivatives strategy at Charles Schwab, said investors were “a little bit more conscious” about the valuations they are paying for AI plays. He described a “buy the dip, sell the rip” mindset — traders buying pullbacks and taking profits on sharp rebounds. 1
CES has become an early-year checkpoint for the AI hardware supply chain because it often brings product updates tied to chips and the AI-ready PCs that use them. Huang’s session is scheduled for 1 p.m. PT (4 p.m. ET) on Monday, the conference schedule shows. 2
Macro data may matter just as much as the headlines out of Las Vegas. A Reuters poll expects U.S. employment to rise by 55,000 jobs in December after a 64,000 increase in November, with unemployment at 4.6%; the report is due at 8:30 a.m. ET on Jan. 9. Reuters also said Fed funds futures were pricing little chance of a cut at the late-January meeting and close to a 50% chance of a quarter-point cut in March. 3
But the trade has little margin for error after a year when valuations stayed elevated even as rates remained restrictive. A softer-than-expected jobs number, a jump in yields, or any sign that demand for AI infrastructure is cooling could push investors back to the exits, especially with policy and trade uncertainty still in the background. 3
Nvidia’s next major company catalyst is its fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Feb. 25, according to its investor calendar. Before that, traders are likely to take their cue from Huang at CES on Jan. 5 and the payrolls report on Jan. 9 — two scheduled events that can move AI stocks quickly when markets reopen. 4
