Nvidia stock moved higher in early trading on Thursday, with the chipmaker once again testing the upper end of its recent range as investors positioned ahead of its earnings report later this month.
Nvidia shares were up 0.8% at $191.11. The Nvidia stock has climbed 11% over the past five trading sessions but has largely traded sideways since November.
The surge today comes even as other AI stocks such as Meta, Microsoft and Amazon were struggling at the bourses.
Chinese AI stocks rally on model upgrades
At the same time, artificial intelligence-related shares in China posted strong gains on Thursday after several companies unveiled upgraded models.
Hong Kong-listed Zhipu AI, which trades as Knowledge Atlas Technology, surged nearly 30% to close at 405 Hong Kong dollars after releasing GLM-5, an open-source large-language model featuring enhanced coding capabilities and longer-running agent tasks.
Shares of MiniMax jumped 14% to 70.5 Hong Kong dollars following the launch of its updated M2.5 open-source model, which includes expanded AI agent tools.
The company described its M2 model as built for coding and agentic workflows.
Shanghai-listed UCloud Tech, which provides computing support for Zhipu, rose 20% to hit its daily trading limit.
Meanwhile, SenseTime, which has shifted its focus toward AI software platforms, gained 6.8% in Hong Kong trading.
According to the South China Morning Post, DeepSeek upgraded its flagship AI model on Wednesday to support a larger context window and more up-to-date knowledge.
US lawmaker signals flexibility on China chip sales
In Washington, debate over chip exports resurfaced as Ro Khanna, the ranking member on the House Select Committee on China, indicated he may support allowing sales of older-generation Nvidia chips to China.
Speaking to reporters after his first committee hearing, Khanna suggested that once the US establishes a technological lead, certain older chips could be sold abroad while restricting access to the latest products.
“We certainly shouldn’t be sending them Rubins. We shouldn’t be sending them Blackwells,” Khanna said.
“But after we have a two-year, three-year advantage, then I’m fine to make sure that our chips are being used in refrigerators and dishwashers and that that is something that we’re selling.”
Earnings and guidance in focus
Investors are now looking to the company’s January-quarter results, scheduled for release on February 25, for a potential catalyst.
According to a FactSet survey of analysts, Nvidia is expected to report adjusted earnings of $1.49 per share on revenue of $65.58 billion.
While the headline numbers are closely watched, forward guidance is likely to be the key driver of the stock’s next move.
Timothy Arcuri of UBS wrote this week that investor expectations for Nvidia’s April quarter may already be running ahead of consensus estimates.
He suggested that the market likely expects revenue in the $74 billion to $75 billion range, compared with the current FactSet consensus forecast of $71.59 billion.
The gap underscores the high bar facing Nvidia after years of rapid growth tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure spending.
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