Daily Market Report – January 2, 2026

Asia

Shares of Baidu 9888 rose today by 9.35% to 143.80 HKD in trading in Hong Kong, following the announcement of plans for a potential IPO of the company's AI chip division. An IPO of the subsidiary Kunlunxin Beijing Technology Co. aligns with China's goal of achieving increasing independence in semiconductor production, given strict US export controls. Elsewhere in Asia, technology stocks are also seeing significant gains. Samsung Electronics 005930 closes on the first trading day of the year up 7.39% at 129,300 KRW. The markets in Japan and China were closed today.

Europe

European stock markets are open today and are starting the new year positively. The world’s leading manufacturer of lithography machines ASML ASML, which are needed for semiconductor production, is seeing an increase of over 7%.

USA

In the USA, market activity is also focused on large technology and AI stocks. On the winners' side, Micron Technology MU stands out with an increase of about 8%, while SanDisk SNDK gains over +12%. Micron is seen by many investors as a cyclical beneficiary of the next investment phase in the semiconductor sector. The heavyweights Nvidia NVDA and Broadcom AVGO are also showing strength. Today's losers include Palantir PLTR and AppLovin APP, which are experiencing significant declines. In short: Chips are rising, software is falling.

Tesla TSLA has released production and delivery figures for the fourth quarter today. 434 thousand vehicles produced and 418 thousand delivered. The delivery numbers, deemed weak by market participants, led to profit-taking. Tesla relinquishes its crown as the largest manufacturer of electric vehicles in the world to BYD 1211. With a market capitalization of $1.47 trillion, the company, which is likely to report declining revenue of around $95 billion for the fiscal year 2025, is being valued more like a technology company than an automotive manufacturer. The market expects an adjusted profit of USD 1.61 per share for 2025, which at the current price leads to a P/E ratio of 272 times earnings. Tesla will release its quarterly figures on January 28. The highly valued stock of Tesla has fallen by about -1.6% today. (12:00 ET)