(COMBO) This combination of pictures created on January 31, 2025 shows (L) Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 6, 2025, and US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on January 31, 2025. Jensen Huang, CEO of AI chip giant Nvidia, met January 31, 2025 with President Donald Trump as the company suffered a rough week on Wall Street over competition with China and the threat of tariffs on semiconductors.
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It’s been a stellar week for technology stocks thanks to thawing global tensions and President Donald Trump’s Middle East jaunt.
Tesla and Nvidia jumped 17% and 16%, respectively, this week as tensions eased between the U.S. and China and Trump’s Middle East dealmaking tour put tech deals in the spotlight.
Both China and the U.S. announced a 90-day pause on tariffs, in a move that signaled a major de-escalation of the sweeping global trade war that has rattled markets since April.
During a White House-led visit to the Middle East this week, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang shared plans to sell more than 18,000 of its artificial intelligence Blackwell chips to Saudi Arabia-based Humain to power data centers.
AMD also said it would supply chips to Humain. The stock popped nearly 14% for the week. Palantir and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing were among the other tech stocks that surged more than 10%.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk was also in Saudi Arabia and said the kingdom approved the use of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service for aviation and maritime use. Musk also said he plans to bring robotaxis to the country.
In the United Arab Emirates, the White House announced a partnership to build a sweeping AI campus with several U.S. companies. A source told CNBC that Nvidia is among the companies supporting the project.
Recent White House plans to dial back chip export curbs on China from President Joe Biden’s administration for a “much simpler rule” also benefited the sector.
Like many peers, Nvidia needs a license to ship its AI chips to China after the U.S. began cracking down on exports in 2022 due to national security concerns.
Last month, Nvidia said it would record a $5.5 billion charge from H20 GPU shipments to China, which is a key market for the U.S.-based chipmaker. Huang told CNBC that China’s AI market could hit $50 billion over the next two to three years, and missing out would be a “tremendous loss.”