Tonight, US chip stocks and Chinese assets experienced a major breakout! However, precious metals, which had been showing strong momentum, suddenly reversed course after an initial surge.
On the evening of January 2, Beijing time, the three major US stock indices opened higher collectively. As of around 23:00, the Nasdaq Index had gained over 1.2%.
US chip stocks rose broadly, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index climbing more than 4.5%. ASML Holding NV surged over 8%, hitting a record high; Micron Technology and Intel gained approximately 8%, while ARM and Advanced Micro Devices rose nearly 6%.
US-listed Chinese stocks collectively broke out, with the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index advancing nearly 3.9%. Baidu, after a 12% pre-market surge, skyrocketed over 12% at the open; its Hong Kong-listed shares also closed up more than 9% today. The news driving this is that Baidu's subsidiary, Kunlun Xin, has submitted a main board listing application to the Hong Kong Exchange. Furthermore, Yatsen Holding gained over 8%, while GDS Holdings, NetEase, Canadian Solar, and Jinko Solar rose around 7%. Bilibili, ChaPanda, and iQiyi increased by 6%, and Alibaba climbed over 4%.
Precious metals, which had been consistently strong, suddenly pulled back. Spot gold once touched upwards of $4,400 but is now up a modest 0.4%, hovering around $4,336; spot silver had gained 4% but has since seen its increase narrow to 2%.
Crude oil futures fell collectively. Both WTI crude and ICE Brent crude declined over 1.2%.
Cryptocurrencies continued their rebound. As of 22:48, Bitcoin reclaimed the $89,000 level. In the past 24 hours, Ethereum, SOL, and XRP all posted gains exceeding 2%, while Dogecoin surged over 10%. Global liquidations affected over 90,000 traders, with total liquidation amounts reaching $235 million, of which more than 78% were short positions ($184 million).
How will US stocks perform in 2026, and where are the opportunities? Regarding the future trajectory of US stocks, Jiang Nanyu, an analyst from Yuanda Information Securities Research Institute, stated that AI is still expected to be a key force supporting the rise of US stocks in 2026. However, the driving logic may shift from pure computing power speculation to profit realization. A series of potential risks also need attention: First is the risk of valuation divergence; leading AI enterprises, with their technical barriers and order advantages, will likely continue to lead, but numerous small and mid-cap AI concept stocks lacking substantial performance support may face valuation corrections. Second is regulatory policy risk; the global trend towards tightening regulations on AI data privacy and anti-trust is evident, potentially increasing industry compliance costs. Third is the risk of technology implementation falling short of expectations. Jiang Nanyu anticipates that the trend of global capital moving towards Asian markets will most likely continue into 2026. Li Huihui, a Professor of Management Practice at emlyon business school, goes further, judging that this will not only continue but also transition from "tactical allocation" to "strategic overweighting." Li Huihui is firmly optimistic about renminbi-denominated assets. The opportunity in China for 2026, he suggests, lies not in the index but in three structural opportunities: first, the "independent controllability" of hard technology; second, the benefits of "industry consolidation" brought by mergers and acquisitions; and third, the "demographic structural" opportunity from domestic demand growth. (For details) (Disclaimer: The article content is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice. Investors operate at their own risk.)