Stock Market Today, Dec. 15: Nvidia Gains on Reports of Strong H200 Demand From China

Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), a leading GPUs and AI solutions developer, closed Monday’s session at $176.29, up 0.73%. Trading volume reached 163 million shares, nearly 15% below its three-month average of 191 million shares.

How the markets moved today

Monday’s move followed premarket reports of stronger H200 demand from China and fresh coverage of Nvidia’s Nemotron 3 open-source AI models. Investors are watching how AI infrastructure spending holds up against valuation and policy risks. The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC) slipped 0.16% to 6,816, while the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX:^IXIC) fell 0.59% to 23,057. Within Semiconductors, industry peers Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) lost 1.52% and 0.79%, respectively, as traders weighed AI server demand against rising competitive pressures.

What this means for investors

Today, the market received welcome news that demand for H200 chips to be sold to China might be robust enough to increase output for this chip, now that U.S. export approvals have been secured. Monday also saw news that Nvidia plans to acquire the AI software firm SchedMD, which supplies software that can help AI data centers operate more efficiently. Investors are hoping these new items might help reinforce Nvidia's AI leadership and could start to reverse the 17% pullback the stock has seen recently.

Earlier this year, Nvidia's Q3 2026 results featured overall revenue growth of 62% with data center revenue growing even faster at 66%, year over year.

Jeff Santoro has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Intel, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.