MW Nvidia's stock heads for record close as AI chip trade reloads for fresh run higher
By Emily Bary
Foxconn earnings offer upbeat signs about the Blackwell ramp, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's upcoming CEO keynote could further support the semiconductor sector
Nvidia Corp.'s stock is on track to close at a new high, embodying the red-hot momentum in the artificial-intelligence chip trade so far this year.
Shares of Nvidia $(NVDA)$ are up 3.8% in Monday morning action and pacing toward their first record close since Nov. 7, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The stock has gained nicely in all three sessions of the year so far, including this one. Nvidia's stock, which recently changed hands near $150, is still off from its Nov. 21 intraday high of $152.89.
While chip stocks lost some steam at the end of last year, they've gotten off to a strong start in 2025, and this could be an action-packed week for the sector. Not only did encouraging monthly results from contract manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (TW:2317), better known as Foxconn, signal healthy trends in the sector, but investors are also highly anticipating Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang's CES keynote Monday evening.
"Why sell semis and related AI winners ahead of whatever he says and potential new products or hints at next-gen GPU Rubin he previews?" Mizuho desk-based analyst Jordan Klein said in a Monday note, referring to graphics processing units.
Read: AI revolution will create 10 winners in 2025 - and software is finally joining the party
Further, Foxconn's release pointed to "strong demand from AI servers," which helped contribute to strong growth in December cloud and networking revenue relative to a year earlier.
In Klein's view, it "sounded like general server demand [was] recovering and AI server accelerating in [December] aided by 'product transitions,' better known as Blackwell."
He added that Foxconn's management may be expecting server, cloud and enterprise segment revenue to be larger than that from consumer businesses like smartphones and personal computers by the middle of the calendar year, which would mark a first. The commentary also signaled "maybe a smaller-than-seasonal" sequential decline in the March quarter, according to Klein, which is helping to alleviate some concerns among buy-side investors about the early pace of Nvidia's Blackwell ramp.
"A better ramp in [the first half of the year] for Blackwell and [Nvidia] talking up an aggressive ramp and timing for [the] next-gen Rubin system would go a long way to encourage larger buy-side positioning around the AI semi/hardware complex," he continued.
The iShares Semiconductor exchange-traded fund SOXX is up 3.7% in morning action Monday and tracking toward its biggest one-day rally since a 4.3% climb seen Sept. 19, 2024, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
Other big gainers within the chip sector include shares of Super Micro Computer Inc. $(SMCI)$, up 12.2%, Micron Technology Inc. $(MU)$, up 9.9%, and Lam Research Corp. $(LRCX)$, up 6.6%. Those three stocks are leading S&P 500 SPX ascenders on the day. Meanwhile, Broadcom Inc. $(AVGO)$ and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. $(AMD)$ shares are both up 3.4%.
Within the PHLX Semiconductor Index SOX, all components are in positive territory.
See also: Salesforce's AI efforts draw doubts from the stock's newest bear
-Emily Bary
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 06, 2025 10:25 ET (15:25 GMT)
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