There is still room for development in the field of artificial intelligence

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang delivers a keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 6, 2025.

Patrick T. Fallon AFP | Getty Images

This report comes from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open keeps investors updated on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.

What you need to know today

S&P and Nasdaq post consecutive gains
US stocks Most of the gains were on Monday, with S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Index Climbing the mountain for two days in a row. Artificial intelligence darling NVIDIA It closed at a record high. Asia-Pacific markets were broadly higher on Tuesday. Rising tech stocks push Japanese stocks higher Nikkei 225 Index More than 2%, but Hong Kong Hang Seng Index There was news that the US authorities had included some companies on the list of “Chinese military companies”, and the stock price fell by about 1.9%.

Tencent is on the list of “Chinese military industrial enterprises”
Tencent Holdings’ Hong Kong-listed shares fell 7% on Tuesday after the company was added to the list of companies listed on the main board. List of “Chinese Military Industrial Enterprises” By the U.S. Department of Defense. Battery manufacturer Ningde erawhich is part of the supply chain Ford and Teslais also added to the list. Tencent said in a statement that its inclusion on the list was “obviously a mistake.”

Nippon Steel still looking for deal
United States Steel Corporation and Nippon Steel announced on Monday that they had two lawsuits filed It opposed a decision by U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration to block the Japanese company’s $14.9 billion takeover of the U.S. steelmaker. in a press conference On Tuesday, Nippon Steel Chairman and Chief Executive Eiji Hashimoto reiterated the company’s pursuit of the deal.

Nvidia launches new AI-ready graphics chip
On Monday at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Nvidia announced a new graphics chip for PCs that uses the same Blackwell architecture as the company’s fastest artificial intelligence processors used in servers and data centers. Although Nvidia started out as a gaming chip maker, Wall Street isn’t as enthusiastic about it as it is about the chipmaker’s artificial intelligence business.

Foxconn shows artificial intelligence is still hot
Foxconn, which trades Hon Hai Precision Industrysaid in a statement on Sunday that the company’s fourth-quarter revenue increased by 15% year-on-year, the highest level in the company’s history during the same period. Data from Foxconn showed artificial intelligence remains hot, driving shares of Nvidia and other global semiconductor companies higher.

(PRO) ETF outperforms S&P
In 2024, the U.S. stock market is having a great year. However, a handful of actively managed funds sold in Europe outperformed this rise, with one ETF returning 30%.

bottom line

Semiconductor stocks rose on Monday, boosted by upbeat news about the artificial intelligence industry.

Foxconn reported record fourth-quarter revenue, driven in part by growth in its cloud and networking products, including artificial intelligence servers designed by Nvidia.

Here’s the electronics maker’s earnings report Microsoft’s It announced on Friday that it plans to invest $80 billion in fiscal 2025 to build data centers capable of handling artificial intelligence workloads.

These reports indicate that companies are continuing to invest heavily in artificial intelligence, but the peak has not yet been reached.

Riding on that tailwind, Nvidia shares rose 3.4% — rising for a third day in a row — to close at a record $149.43. The company’s shares edged further higher in after-hours trading and are now above the $150 level.

More broadly, VanEck Semiconductor ETF An increase of more than 3%.

These measures helped push major stock indexes higher. High-tech Nasdaq Index was the clear winner, up 1.24%, while S&P 500 Index up 0.55%.

However, Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.06%. The index gave up earlier gains on reports that Trump might ease import tariffs, which would benefit blue-chip companies such as the consumer discretionary industry.

Despite these upbeat reports and positive market trends on Monday, the year ahead still looks uncertain.

Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research, said: “I think the market is quite optimistic about the technology sector right now, with earnings growth expected to be 20% this year compared to the market’s 12.8% earnings growth… but valuations do seem to be constrained.”

The real test of artificial intelligence, then, is whether companies can use it to increase revenue rather than just drive up the price of picks and shovels in the industry.

—CNBC’s Ryan Browne, Jordan Novet, Pia Singh and Tanaya Macheel contributed to this report.