Nvidia Stock Rises on Report of New Chip Sales to China

An Nvidia Cop. HGX B100 GPU server. The chip maker’s stock has gained another one-third in value this year. (Annabelle Chih/Bloomberg)

Key Points

• Nvidia’s stock gained one-third in value in 2025, continuing its multiyear bull run and becoming the most valuable public company.
• Artificial intelligence was a key market theme in 2025, with AI-exposed tech companies, including Nvidia, leading stock gains.
• Investors anticipate a potential year-end ‘Santa Claus rally,’ with AI stocks like Nvidia expected to be front-runners.

This has been Nvidia’s year, and the final two weeks of 2025 give the stock one more opportunity to prove it.

Nvidia stock was up 1.5% on Monday. The rise came after a report of progress for the company’s business in China, which has been stymied by U.S.-China tensions and Washington’s limits on the export of high-tech chips used in artificial-intelligence applications.

Nvidia plans to begin shipping its H200 AI chips to China by mid-February, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. The report said the chip maker would ship 40,000 to 80,000 H200 chips, adding that Nvidia plans for new production capacity in the second quarter of next year.

When asked for comment on the Reuters report, an Nvidia spokesperson said in an emailed statement: “We continuously manage our supply chain. Licensed sales of the H200 to authorized customers in China will have no impact on our ability to supply customers in the United States.”

Positive news like this, and a bump for Nvidia stock, is a perfect example of how investors might want to rely on Nvidia for holiday cheer.

Investors are facing down the final two weeks of 2025, and for the stock market that means lower trading volumes—and the potential for higher volatility—as well as hopes for the much-lauded Santa Claus rally.

If stocks follow history and surge to finish the year, Nvidia could be the winner. With the S&P 500 index up 0.6% on Monday and Nvidia shares higher, that trend may already be playing out.

AI was a key theme for the stock market this year, with demand for AI products, computing, and infrastructure propelling AI-exposed tech names to lead the way higher.

Nvidia has become the byword for AI winners. The stock’s multiyear bull run continued in 2025 as it became the most valuable public company, with the shares gaining another one-third in value this year—no small feat for a multi-trillion dollar name.

Markets are currently in a December funk, with what is historically one of the best months for markets instead seeing the S&P 500 stagnate. But Wall Street is hoping that the stars align for a year-end rally, and it only makes sense for Nvidia to lead it.

Along with AI, the other major narrative for markets this year has been the outlook for U.S. interest rates. But there are few macroeconomic catalysts on tap until January, which will likely mute shifts in investor expectations over rates that typically move stocks.

If investors make a Santa rally a reality, they may be likeliest to turn to this year’s favorites: the AI names, and Nvidia chief among them.

Write to Jack Denton at jack.denton@barrons.com