Published on
Nvidia shares fell more than 8% in after-hours trading on Wednesday after The Wall Street Journal reported that the chipmaker’s board was preparing to oust CEO Jensen Huang. The shares had closed up 2.9% at $173.73 in regular US trading.
The board met late Wednesday US time to decide whether to remove Huang, Reuters reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.
The shares had closed up 2.9% at $173.73 in regular US trading.
Huang, who co-founded Nvidia in 1993, has become synonymous with the company. Its dominance in chips used to train AI models has made Nvidia the poster child for the AI boom. A change in leadership could have repercussions across the industry.
On Sunday, Nvidia’s board announced an independent investigation following reports that Huang had been targeted by a foreign intelligence effort. The board said it had no reason to believe company secrets or US national security had been compromised and expressed confidence in Huang.
Huang has acknowledged an extramarital affair. Reuters reported that the woman involved was suspected of spying for China.
Separately, The New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing five people who had worked at Nvidia, that Huang was also involved in a second extramarital affair, with the company’s vice president of health care, Kimberly Powell.
Asian shares slip after Wall Street rally
Asian shares mostly fell on Thursday as uncertainty over Nvidia’s leadership weighed on AI stocks.
In morning trading, Taiwan’s Taiex fell 2.6%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.2% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.7%. The Shanghai Composite fell 0.6%, South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.2% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged down nearly 0.1%.
European stock futures rose ahead of Thursday’s open, with DAX and FTSE 100 futures both up 0.7%, even as Nvidia’s after-hours slide weighed on US futures.
On Wall Street, the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.6% on Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose 1.3% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.5%. CoreWeave, which rents access to AI chips through its cloud platform, jumped 24.7% after reporting a smaller quarterly loss than analysts had expected. The US bond market was closed for Veterans Day.
The rally extended a rebound in AI stocks after last week’s sell-off, when the Democratic sweep of Congress raised concerns about tighter regulation. Investors are also weighing whether demand for AI will generate enough profit to justify the industry’s heavy spending.
Benchmark US crude was up by 0.3% to $86.80 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, was up by 0.5% at $93.21 a barrel. Brent has fluctuated within a range of $72 to $120 since the war with Iran pushed prices much higher.
Benchmark US crude was up 0.3% at $86.80 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was up 0.5% at $93.21 a barrel. Brent has traded between $72 and $120 a barrel since the Iran war pushed prices higher.
In currency trading, the dollar edged down to ¥159.78 from ¥159.79, while the euro slipped to $1.1080 from $1.1091.