Nvidia slides 7% as board weighs Jensen Huang’s future

Nvidia shares fell about 7% in U.S. pre-market trading Thursday after an 8.6% after-hours decline on Wednesday, while its board met on whether to remove chief executive Jensen Huang. CNBC reported that the board was considering removal following reports of two extramarital affairs. The stock had already lost more than 20% over the past month. Several analysts told CNBC it could fall another 20% if Huang were removed.

At 4:43 a.m. ET, Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.92% and S&P 500 futures were down 0.45%, while Dow futures were up 12 points, near flat. An earlier Reuters snapshot at 4:11 a.m. ET showed Nasdaq 100 E-minis down 226.25 points, or 0.79%.

How deep is Nvidia’s selloff?

Nvidia’s decline contrasted with gains among several chip peers. CNBC reported the following pre-market moves:

• AMD gained 3.9%, while Broadcom rose 3%.
• Intel, Marvell, Arm and Qualcomm traded lower.
• Reuters put Intel, Marvell and Micron 2.6% to 3.4% lower, with CoreWeave down 7.2% and Nebius down 4.7%.

The moves threatened to undo Wednesday’s rally, when chip stocks closed nearly 6% higher and the S&P 500 gained 1.3%.

Dan Ives of Yorkville Ives & Co. wrote overnight: “In our view the writing is on the wall that Jensen’s days at Nvidia could be numbered and we would expect this to be a very fluid situation over the next 48 hours.” Ives valued Nvidia at $300 a share with Huang as chief executive and $225 without him.

Why did Europe set another record?

Asia closed lower. The Nikkei 225 fell 0.7%, the Kospi lost 0.61%, and SK Hynix, TSMC and Advantest declined. Taiwan’s Taiex dropped nearly 3%.

Europe moved the other way. Invezz reported that the Stoxx 600 rose 0.3% to a record 665.38 at 08:06 GMT, or 3:06 a.m. ET, above Wednesday’s record close of 663.05. Germany’s DAX also reached an all-time high.

At 4:45 a.m. ET, ADVFN reported the Stoxx 600 up 0.4% at a record. The DAX gained 1.1%, the CAC 40 rose 0.6% and the FTSE 100 added 0.3%. Nvidia’s Frankfurt-listed shares fell 7.4%.

Siemens rose 3.8% after raising its mid-term targets. Burberry gained after first-half profit more than tripled, while Rolls-Royce advanced after adding a £1.5 billion buyback. Europe’s technology index fell 1.3%. ASML lost 3%, Infineon 3.8%, ASMI 1.8% and BE Semiconductor 1.6%. Britain reported third-quarter growth of 0.7%, in line with estimates.

What do rates and commodities signal?

CNBC reported mixed Treasury yields after trading resumed following the Veterans Day closure. The 10-year yield was flat at 4.992%, the two-year rose 3 basis points to 4.757%, and the 30-year held at 5.340%.

Reuters reported that spot gold fell for a third session. It dropped 1.4% to $3,931.54 an ounce at 09:12 GMT, or 4:12 a.m. ET, after touching its lowest level since Nov. 4. December gold futures fell 1.6% to $3,936.80. The dollar climbed to a 19-month high earlier in the session, while spot silver declined 1.3% to $50.99.

Markets assigned an 89% probability to a quarter-point Federal Reserve rate hike in December and an 11% probability to a half-point move. Those odds rose from zero before October’s hot inflation report.

Oil reversed an early decline linked to hopes for a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire and a quieter Iran conflict. Brent fell to $91.32 a barrel and WTI to $85.32 in Asian trade. By about 5:15 a.m. ET, Brent had recovered to $92.90, up 0.15%, and WTI stood at $86.56, according to Oilprice.com’s futures quotes.

What data could change the market?

Weekly initial jobless claims arrive at 8:30 a.m. ET. Existing home sales for October follow at 10 a.m., and the producer price index arrives Friday. Over the next 48 hours, the board decision will shape Nvidia’s downside risk, while its performance against AMD and Broadcom will show whether the chip group can absorb the loss.