Listen to today’s podcast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-nqwUyvLDEvs7bV985k-gQ
Stock Market Daily Podcast 01/03/2026
Today’s podcast episode was created from the following stories:
Chinese tech stocks charged into 2026 with an AI chip IPO surge and more listings lined up
Source | By Huileng Tan | January 2, 2026
Shanghai Biren’s Hong Kong debut exploded nearly 120% after raising about $717 million, signaling intense investor appetite for China’s homegrown AI hardware. The frenzy—fueled by Nvidia export curbs and 2025’s DeepSeek-R1 breakout—has lifted the Hang Seng Tech Index and set the stage for more AI-linked listings, including Baidu’s chip unit as well as MiniMax and Zhipu AI. Hong Kong just had its busiest IPO month since 2019, with roughly half of new listings in tech.
Stock index futures climb in strong start to 2026
Source | By Oleksandr Pylypenko | January 2, 2026
U.S. stock futures rose to kick off 2026—Nasdaq leading—on upbeat AI headlines from Asia and some tariff relief on furniture and cabinetry, plus reduced proposed duties on Italian pasta. Traders are watching the S&P Global Manufacturing PMI, with rate markets largely expecting no January move and the 10-year yield near 4.16%. The bid for chips and mega-cap tech is back in pre-market, reflecting momentum from last year’s double-digit index gains.
Vice stocks enter ’26 with a harsh hangover
Source | By Jamie Wilde | January 2, 2026
Performance was split across vices in 2025: Philip Morris and AB InBev rallied while Molson Coors slumped, as consumers tightened budgets and regulations evolved. Cannabis got a major regulatory shift with federal rescheduling to Schedule 3, yet banking and capital hurdles persist; nicotine continues its pivot to smokeless, and alcohol faces sober-curious headwinds and layoffs. Even so, analysts see many vice names as resilient, offering defensive exposure if growth slows.
