AI-linked chips and software helped set the tone. Nvidia gained around 1% after reports it plans to start shipping its H200 chips into China by mid-February, even if final approvals are still a question mark. Micron tacked on roughly 2.5%, and Oracle added more than 1% as traders leaned back into the AI infrastructure story. Marvell caught a bid after a positive call from Citi ahead of CES, reinforcing the idea that the AI buildout theme still has legs, even if positioning had cooled off recently.
How did single names and crypto plays trade?
On the single-stock side, Warner Bros. Discovery jumped more than 4% on renewed deal chatter tied to Paramount and Skydance. Tesla, Axon, Palantir, Diamondback Energy, Synopsys, Monolithic Power and Airbnb all sat on the Nasdaq leader board.
On the flip side, Seagate, MercadoLibre, Zscaler, Fastenal and some staples and utilities lagged, with Kraft Heinz, Starbucks, Exelon and AEP all in the red.
Crypto stocks had a solid morning as bitcoin pushed back toward the $90,000 area, with Strategy, Marathon Digital and Robinhood all up around 2% give or take.
What’s weighing on the laggards?
Honeywell slipped after flagging a one-time fourth-quarter charge that will cut GAAP sales and operating income tied to a Flexjet settlement. That kind of headline is exactly what short-term holders use to take profits into year-end. More broadly, some of the recent winners in defensives and quality growth saw light profit-taking as money rotated back into cyclical and growth pockets.