Nvidia Slides ~9% as Board Weighs CEO Huang's Future; Asian Chip Stocks Follow
NVDA is trading near its 52-week low of $164.27 (3.3% below the low) on elevated volume (2.6× avg).
Summary
Nvidia shares fell about 9% in late US trading after Bloomberg reported the board is meeting to discuss CEO Jensen Huang's future, following his admission of an affair with a woman US officials reportedly suspect of being a Chinese spy; the woman suspected of being a spy has returned to Beijing. The New York Times separately reported a relationship with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's healthcare vice president. The shock reversed a strong US session — the Nasdaq 100 had climbed 2.3% before futures turned and fell more than 1%. The reaction spread into Asia: South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.068% and Taiwan's TAIEX lost 0.24%, with SK Hynix sliding and Samsung giving back early gains, since damage to Nvidia confidence hits its suppliers hardest. AMD and Broadcom rose as traders bet they could pick up business if Nvidia stumbles. This follows the Reuters report late Wednesday that the board was preparing to remove Huang; the stock is already trading near its 52-week low, so the leadership question now sits on top of an already weak tape. Senators Warren and Coons will request that documents on the China-Nvidia relationship be preserved, sending letters to Lutnick, Rubio and Stephen Miller seeking confirmation of preservation orders, while Jim Cramer said he won't add Nvidia shares amid reports Huang may be ousted, Ian Buck leads Polymarket odds for next Nvidia CEO at 30%, and Huang's Trump ties face scrutiny amid the spy allegation.
At the time of this announcement, NVDA was trading at $158.78 on NASDAQ in the Technology sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $4.2T. The 52-week trading range was $164.27 to $243.37. This news item was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 8 out of 10. Source: CNBC TV18.