On Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, U.S. stocks closed higher, marking two consecutive gains for all three major indexes. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.31% to 23,307.62, the S&P 500 gained 0.88% to 6,834.50, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.38% to 48,134.89.

After a choppy stretch driven by concerns around heavy AI spending, debt, and capex, money rotated back into technology and semiconductors. The “AI trade” the cluster of stocks tied to AI hardware, cloud infrastructure, and data centers showed signs of regaining leadership, even as investors remain cautious about what 2026 may bring.

Oracle jumps on TikTok–U.S. deal headlines, lifting AI/cloud sentiment

Oracle shares surged after reports that TikTok agreed to sell its U.S. operations to a new joint venture that includes the software giant and private equity firm Silver Lake.

This matters on two levels:

• Growth narrative: Oracle is widely viewed as a core enterprise data and cloud player. Any potential increase in large-scale, data-intensive workloads can quickly revive expectations for cloud and AI-related revenue.

• Sentiment reset: Oracle had faced pressure earlier in the week amid reports and market chatter around debt levels and AI/data-center spending, which had weighed on other AI-linked names as well.

In short, the TikTok headline functioned as a “confidence spark” for Oracle’s AI/cloud story at least in the near term.

Nvidia rallies on prospects of advanced chip sales to China being reviewed

Nvidia gained as Reuters reported that the Trump administration is reviewing the prospect of the company selling its advanced AI chips to China. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump said Nvidia would be allowed to ship its H200 AI chips to “approved customers” in the country.

This is a highly sensitive theme:

• If restrictions ease, Nvidia’s revenue runway potentially expands.

• If controls tighten again or approvals are limited, headline-driven volatility can return quickly because AI-related equities remain extremely reactive to export policy and geopolitics.

Micron strengthens the “AI infrastructure loop” from the memory side

The semiconductor rally wasn’t just about GPUs. Micron extended gains, rising roughly 7% after surging 10% the prior session on robust quarterly revenue guidance, helping reassure investors after recent AI-trade jitters.

In the AI ecosystem, the market often tracks the full infrastructure chain:

GPUs/accelerators → servers → memory (HBM/DRAM) → networking → power & cooling → data centers.

So when a key memory supplier like Micron delivers strong guidance, it supports the view that AI capex is translating into real, broad-based hardware demand.

Looking into 2026: AI remains a growth engine but financing and issuance could weigh

The market’s 2026 setup can be summed up simply: AI is still the growth engine, but the bill for the buildout matters.

• The bullish case: AI-driven capex supports productivity and a stronger growth backdrop, benefiting multiple links in the chain — from chips and memory to cloud and data-center infrastructure.

• The cautious case: Heavy capex may require increased debt issuance and broader financing needs, which can pressure valuations and weigh on markets if rates don’t fall fast enough.

As Tom Garretson, senior portfolio strategist at RBC Wealth Management, put it: increased issuance tied to hyperscalers and AI could weigh into 2026 — even if these are among the best-rated companies with strong capacity to fund investment.