Key figuresAsian stocks drop as traders keep eye on Nvidia crisis

AFP

Published: 12.11.26 10:53, Update: 12.11.26 11:05

Investors are keeping a wary eye on developments at Nvidia as the board determines Jensen Huang's future

Asian stocks fell Thursday as investors kept a nervous eye on AI giant Nvidia, whose influential boss Jensen Huang is facing a board revolt amid a probe into an affair with a woman accused of spying for China.

Reports of another affair, between Huang and a senior Nvidia executive, piled on the pressure and reportedly prompted an emergency board meeting late Wednesday.

Companies linked to the artificial intelligence sector have enjoyed a healthy bounce in recent days after last week's sell-off sparked by regulatory concerns following the Democratic sweep of the US Congress.

The imminent IPO of Claude-maker Anthropic and positive earnings from the likes of OpenAI and data centre operator CoreWeave -- which soothed worries about its financial health -- have reinforced optimism.

Chipmakers SK hynix, Samsung, Kioxia and TSMC have led the surge in Asia, even as expectations rise for a series of US interest rate hikes that would increase borrowing costs.

But traders' nerves are being tested by the crisis at Nvidia, with Huang facing the boot after he admitted to having an extramarital affair, reportedly with Alice Huang, a senior executive at Singapore-based data centre company Megaspeed who US officials believe was working for Chinese intelligence.

Beijing has rejected the spying allegations.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that Huang was also involved in a second extramarital affair, with the company's vice president of health care, Kimberly Powell.

That prompted a last-minute board meeting and sent Nvidia shares down around six percent in pre-market trading.

The stock has shed 24 percent of its value over the past month, wiping around $1.4 trillion off its market capitalisation.

Huang has built Nvidia to be one of the world's biggest and most important companies, designing advanced chips crucial to the AI buildout that has helped drive stock markets to record highs and boosted economies around the world.

All three main indexes on Wall Street ended on another strong note Wednesday.

But Asia's run-up came to an end despite a healthy start to the day.

Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taipei, Sydney, Singapore, Mumbai, Bangkok and Manila all dropped, though there were gains in Jakarta and Wellington.

London rose as data showed the UK economy grew in line with expectations in the third quarter.

Paris and Frankfurt also rose.

- Succession concerns -

"Nvidia has spent years convincing investors that it is one of the most important companies in the AI revolution," wrote Charu Chanana at Saxo Markets.

"Now, the biggest question surrounding the company is not about its chips, competitors or earnings. It is about its founder."

She said Huang was key to the firm's future, including dealings with governments.

"Nvidia's technological advantage would not disappear with his departure," she added. "Its CUDA software ecosystem, product capabilities and customer relationships remain formidable strengths," she said.

"But an abrupt exit without a credible succession plan could force investors to reassess how much of Nvidia's future depends on Huang personally."

On currency markets the Indonesian rupiah hit a record low against the dollar as traders rushed into the US unit on expectations the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates into the new year.

Asia's worst-performing currency this year weakened to as much as 18,253 to the greenback in afternoon trade, spurring the Indonesian central bank to intervene to provide support.

The drop came just before the country's vice president resigned in the midst of a scandal over his high school diploma, adding to pressure on a government facing widespread dissatisfaction over the economy, graft and wildfires.