Key facts
- Nvidia's board met late on Wednesday to decide the fate of founder and CEO Jensen Huang, a source told Reuters.
- The New York Times reported Huang had an affair with another company executive who reported to him.
- Nvidia's board said it would investigate Huang's relationship with a businesswoman alleged to be a Chinese spy.
- Nvidia shares fell more than 8% in after-hours trading amid a wave of broker downgrades.
- Ian Buck, an architect of the CUDA software system, and CFO Colette Kress are among possible interim CEO contenders, the report said.
- Democratic senators urged the Trump administration to preserve documents linked to Nvidia's chip exports to China.
Nvidia's board met late on Wednesday to decide the fate of founder and CEO Jensen Huang, a source told Reuters, as the company confronts two separate scandals. The New York Times reported late on Wednesday that Huang had had an affair with another company executive who reported to him. Earlier, the board said it would investigate his relationship with a businesswoman alleged to be a Chinese spy.
The AI chip company's shares fell more than 8% at one point in after-hours trading amid a wave of broker downgrades, weighing on US equity futures in the Asian session. Nvidia has no clear succession plan, and Ian Buck, an architect of the CUDA software system, and Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress are among possible contenders to become interim CEO, according to the report.
In Washington, Democratic senators urged the Trump administration to preserve all documents linked to Nvidia's chip exports to China. The report said it is also unclear what happens to Nvidia's financing arrangements with many other companies in its industry.
Semiconductor stocks had been enjoying a broad rally after CoreWeave's earnings eased fears around the health of the AI sector, which had earlier lifted some of Nvidia's competitors. On Thursday, stocks gave back some of those gains. S&P 500 e-mini futures were down 0.4% and Nasdaq e-mini futures were off 1%, with the Asian tech supply chain initially holding up better before giving up gains later in the trading session.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fluctuated between gains and losses and was down 1.1%, as Taiwanese shares fell 2.8%. Japan's Nikkei 225 was off 0.8%.
The US dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, was up 0.1% at 103.08, its highest level since April last year, as traders increased bets on higher interest rates over the next few months. In early European trade, pan-region futures climbed 0.4%, while German DAX futures and FTSE futures were 0.7% higher.
The report also listed US earnings from Applied Materials and Cisco Systems, European earnings from Allianz, Siemens and Burberry Group, UK third-quarter GDP, industrial output and September goods trade data, German and French sentiment surveys, and a UK auction of 6-year government debt as items that could influence markets on Thursday.