Intel Shows Strong Bullish Sentiment Amid Market Selloff, Major Contract Win, and Earnings Optimism in January 2026

On January 20, all three major Wall Street indexes experienced their largest one-day declines in three months due to concerns over new tariff threats. Despite the broad market selloff, Intel showed the highest bullish sentiment among option movers. The VIX index saw a significant volume increase of 204%, indicating heightened market volatility. In January 2026, Intel's stock surged nearly 11%, reaching its highest level since January 2022, driven by a major contract win from the U.S. Department of War for advanced chip supply and packaging, part of a $151 billion defense initiative. Optimism grew ahead of Intel's Q4 earnings report, with analysts upgrading ratings and price targets due to strong prospects from new Panther Lake processors, the 18A manufacturing process, and potential new clients like Apple. Analysts highlighted strong server CPU demand as a key growth driver.