Nvidia shares drop 8.6% as board weighs CEO Jensen Huang's security concerns
Asian markets slid Thursday following reports of an emergency board meeting regarding the chipmaker's leader and his alleged ties to a Chinese businesswoman.
By Andrew Kovalenko ·
Nvidia shares fell 8.6% in after-hours trading on Thursday after reports indicated the company's board met late Wednesday to address the situation surrounding CEO Jensen Huang. The meeting focused on national security concerns in the United States linked to Huang's relationship with a Chinese businesswoman.
The stock had previously climbed 2.9% on Wednesday. However, the decline on Thursday reversed that gain as the company disclosed it is investigating Huang. He has admitted to a relationship with a businesswoman who allegedly provided intelligence and advanced chips to China.
The uncertainty over the chip giant's leadership weighed on artificial intelligence-related stocks across Asia. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index shed 0.7% to close at 60,798.84. South Korea's Kospi index gave up early gains to slip 0.2% to 5,364.26.
Taiwan's Taiex index lost 2.6% during the session. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined nearly 0.1% to 9,146.80. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong dropped 1.2% to 24,034.38, while the Shanghai Composite fell 0.6% to 3,657.03. U.S. futures also edged lower in the wake of the news.
Wall Street had shown resilience the prior day despite the AI sector's recent volatility. The S&P 500 rose 1.3% on Wednesday, nearly recovering all of the losses from last week's sell-off. The index ended the day within 2.6% of its all-time high set last month. The Nasdaq composite rallied 1.6%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 254 points, or 0.5%.
CoreWeave led the S&P 500 gains on Wednesday. The cloud company, which rents access to AI chips, leaped 24.7% after revealing that it lost less money during the summer than analysts had projected. Investors remain wary of a potential slowdown in the AI industry due to questions about whether massive technology investments will prove profitable.
Benchmark U.S. crude oil prices fell 0.28% to $86.29 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 0.27% to $92.51 per barrel. Brent prices have fluctuated between $72 and $120 since the war with Iran pushed costs higher. The U.S. bond market was closed Wednesday for Veterans Day. The U.S. dollar fell to 159.78 Japanese yen from 159.79, while the euro cost $1.1080, down from $1.1091.
More Business · Business Watchdog · Report a business · Got a Story?
