Investors are advised to consult Golden麒麟 analyst reports for authoritative, professional, timely, and comprehensive analysis to uncover potential thematic opportunities. On the first trading day of 2026, US markets opened higher but closed lower, while Chinese concept stocks and AI chip stocks surged; Elon Musk's announcement of "mass production" for brain-computer interface devices in 2026 has drawn significant attention.
Let's take a look at the closing performance of overseas markets on the first trading day of the new year. At the close on January 2, Eastern Time, the three major US stock indices ended mixed: the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.66% to 48,382.39 points; the S&P 500 index gained 0.19% to 6,858.47 points; and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.03% to 23,235.63 points. Dragged down by some popular tech stocks, the Nasdaq Composite was unable to maintain its opening gains.
On that day, Tesla fell 2.59%, Microsoft dropped 2.21%, Amazon declined 1.88%, Meta decreased 1.41%, and Netflix slid 2.97%.
The semiconductor sector saw broad-based gains, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surging 4%, and AI chip stocks collectively moving higher. Among individual stocks, Micron Technology soared over 10%, NVIDIA rose 1.26%, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing jumped 5.19%, Intel climbed 6.72%, and AMD advanced 4.35%. ASML, Applied Materials, and Lam Research all gained over 8%.
Market attention was drawn to news that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing has received an annual license from the US government. According to reports, the global chip foundry stated it has been granted an annual permit by the US government to export chip manufacturing equipment to its Nanjing plant in 2026.
Furthermore, price increases for computing power products in 2026 have become a focal point for capital markets. Reportedly, driven by soaring memory prices, NVIDIA and AMD plan to "significantly increase prices in stages" for various GPUs starting early in the year. Concurrently, NVIDIA is reportedly in talks to acquire the model startup AI21 Labs for $2 to $3 billion.
Chinese concept stocks kicked off the new year with substantial gains on the first trading day of 2026 for US markets, with the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index surging 4.38%. Among individual stocks, Alibaba rose 6.24%, NetEase jumped 7.22%, Baidu Group soared 14.97%, JD.com gained 2.89%, while XPeng Motors, Li Auto, and KE Holdings all increased over 1%.
On the industry news front, according to several foreign media outlets, BYD has topped the global electric vehicle sales rankings. BYD's pure electric vehicle sales for 2025 reached approximately 2.26 million units, a near 28% increase from 2024. Tesla's full-year 2025 vehicle deliveries were about 1.64 million, against market expectations of 1.6 million; its Q4 2025 deliveries were 418,200 vehicles, bringing the annual total to 1.64 million.
Additionally, significant news emerged regarding Elon Musk's brain-computer interface venture. On December 31, 2025, Musk stated on social media that his brain-computer interface company, Neuralink, will commence mass production of its devices in 2026 and simultaneously advance the full automation of its surgical procedures.
The final reading for the US S&P Global Manufacturing PMI for December was released. The December 2025 final reading came in at 51.8, matching both expectations and the previous reading, but it declined from November's 52.2. Market observers believe that although manufacturers continued to increase output in December, the outlook for the beginning of the year in the US is less optimistic.
Economist Chris Williamson noted that while manufacturers continued to raise output in December, contributing to further strong economic growth in the fourth quarter, the outlook for early 2026 appears less favorable. Although cost trends suggest the inflationary impact of tariffs likely peaked in the summer, US business costs are still rising at a relatively high rate month-on-month, indicating that cost growth for American firms continues to outpace that of competitors in most other major economies.
