Wall Street is closely monitoring the semiconductor sector today, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced Nvidia (NVDA) can ship its H200 AI chips to China, as long as the U.S. government receives 25% of sales. Trump said the same approach would apply to peers Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) and Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD), but China could reportedly limit access to the technology.
INTC was last seen trading near breakeven at $40.33, pulling back to a site of previous October resistance after surging to a Dec. 3, more than 52-week high of $44.02. The equity closed out November with a fourth-straight monthly gain, and has added over 100% so far this year.
AMD is up 0.6% to trade at $222.45 at last check, on track for its third-straight gain as it brushes off swirling concerns over how China's military may benefit from chip sales. The security has taken a breather from its Oct. 29, record high of $267.08 and is fresh off its worst monthly performance since December 2022, but remains up 84.1% for 2025.
Now could be a good opportunity to bet on either stock's next moves with options, as they are affordably priced. INTC's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 55% sits higher than just 26% of all other readings from the last year, while AMD's SVI of 54% ranks above 30% of annual readings.
