Tech Weekly: CES Announcements Reignite Memory Shortage Concerns

This week's tech sector performance

Tech markets spent the first full week of 2026 responding to headlines out of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, where semiconductor and artificial intelligence (AI) announcements helped drive Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) momentum. This enthusiasm pushed the index to a fresh record midweek before a bout of profit taking and renewed concerns weighed on sentiment heading into Friday (January 9).

The Nasdaq finished the week up 0.95 percent from Monday's (January 5) open, powered by gains in memory and storage names like Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) and Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) after upbeat commentary on next-generation data infrastructure. However, the rally faded as investors rotated into defensive stocks after US President Donald Trump proposed a US$1.5 trillion “Dream Military” budget.

Labor market indicators for the week suggest a continued, gradual cooling in the American jobs market, supporting the case for future US Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.

North of the border, Canada’s S&P/TSX Composite Index (INDEXTSI:OSPTX) retreated after briefly hitting a record, mirroring the US market’s rotation in the second half of the week.

3 tech stocks moving markets this week

1. Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU)

Shares of Micron Technology rose 0.12 percent on Monday after the company provided an investor update confirming strong demand for its high-bandwidth memory, critical for AI GPUs, through 2026.

Comments on storage shortages at CES amplified gains on Tuesday (January 6), driving an 8.25 percent advance for Micron that day alongside additional memory stocks. The company saw a 6.14 percent weekly gain.

2. Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT)

Lockheed Martin jumped by as much as 2.06 percent on Thursday (January 8) after Trump’s military budget post prompted an investor rotation to defensive tech stocks.

3. SanDisk (NASDAQ:SNDK)

Sandisk, a company focused on NAND flash, SSDs and memory cards for consumer and AI data center use, jumped as much as 27.57 percent on Tuesday as comments at CES from NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Samsung Electronics (KRX:005930,OTCPL:SSNLF) executives reignited concerns of forthcoming price increases for NAND flash memory.

Top tech news of the week

• During CES, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang unveiled the company’s latest accelerator, the Vera Rubin six-chip platform. It is scheduled to roll out in the second half of 2026, and is described as being 3.5 times better at training and five times better at running AI software than its predecessor, Blackwell. NVIDIA also announced Alpamayo, a new family of OpenAI models for autonomous vehicles that will be featured in the Mercedes-Benz Group (ETR:MBG,OTCPL:MBGAF) CLA.

• Huang also announced that NVIDIA's new AI server racks will not require outside cooling, a revelation that caused the stocks of cooling equipment suppliers, such as Modine Manufacturing (NYSE:MOD) and Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI), to fall.

• Elon Musk’s xAI announced a successful US$20 billion funding round, exceeding its target, with NVIDIA and Cisco Investments noted as a strategic investors.

• Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) introduced its Core Ultra Series 3 chips, codenamed Panther Lake, the first high-volume laptop chips manufactured using Intel’s homegrown 18A semiconductor process. The chips promise improved energy efficiency and a revamped neural processing unit for AI workloads. Intel also announced it is developing a bespoke gaming chip and software specifically for mobile gaming devices.

• Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) launched Dragonwing IQ10, an 18-core chip designed for heavy-duty robotics, capable of processing data from 20 cameras simultaneously. Humanoid robot maker Figure AI is switching its hardware architecture to Qualcomm’s platform to use the new processor.

• Boston Dynamics said it is partnering with Google DeepMind to integrate Gemini’s AI into the “brains” of its industrial humanoid robot, Atlas. Hyundai Motor (KRX:005380,OTCPL:HYMTF), which owns Boston Dynamics, plans to deploy these robots in its US manufacturing plants starting in 2028.

• Samsung is also expanding its partnership with Google to roll out Gemini-backed Galaxy AI features to 800 million mobile devices. This expansion extends to new product categories, including kitchen appliances and smart glasses.

• Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has surpassed Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) market cap for the first time since 2019, reaching US$3.97 trillion versus Apple’s US$3.83 trillion.

• Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) said it’s scrapping its Dell Premium tier after the company's COO admitted it was "obvious" that a change is needed. Dell plans to restore the XPS moniker as its flagship consumer laptop brand; it will be powered by Intel’s Panther Lake chips.

• Siemens (ETR:SIE,OTCPL:SMAWF) and NVIDIA said they are deepening their partnership to create an industrial AI operating system with the goal of building factories controlled almost entirely by AI, beginning with a Siemens site in Erlangen, Germany. A further collaboration between NVIDIA, Siemens and Commonwealth Fusion Systems is using AI to accelerate fusion energy development by building a digital twin of a demonstration machine to speed up the commercialization of fusion technology.

Tech ETF performance

Tech exchange-traded funds (ETFs) track baskets of major tech stocks, meaning their performance helps investors gauge the overall performance of the niches they cover.

This week, the iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) advanced by 2.47 percent, while the Invesco PHLX Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXQ) saw a gain of 1.45 percent.

The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SMH) also increased by 1.98 percent.

Tech news to watch next week

Next week will bring bank earnings, starting with JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) on January 12, and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) on January 15. January 15 will also bring the latest quarterly results from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (NYSE:TSM).

US producer price index data will hit on January 14, testing Fed rate cut bets, while Micron is set to break ground on its US$100 billion New York mega-fab on January 16.