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Major global stock indices experienced varied sessions on Thursday as investors digested the sudden resignation of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang amid scandal reports. Despite early losses across Wall Street and Asia-Pacific markets, the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 eventually recovered to finish higher as traders moved past the announcement.
Nvidia Leadership Shakeup and Market Impact
Nvidia shares faced heavy selling pressure after Jensen Huang announced he would immediately step down as CEO and board member following reports of extramarital affairs, including a relationship with an executive at the company and another with a woman identified by U.S. intelligence agencies as a Chinese spy. The stock saw a trading volume exceeding 373 million shares, surpassing its 30-day average of 144.4 million, and hovered just under a $4 trillion market capitalization after paring steeper losses of more than 10%.
Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress was named interim chief. Analysts expressed mixed views on the leadership transition, with Dan Ives suggesting the company’s value differs significantly depending on Huang’s tenure, while Paul Meeks of Freedom Capital noted that the sell-off brought the stock down to attractive valuation levels, calling the resignation announcement a market-clearing event. Stephanie Link of Hightower Advisors stated she exited her Nvidia position to buy Micron Technology instead, citing the short-term overhang of leadership investigations.
Rival chipmakers Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Broadcom saw their shares gain about 3% each in premarket trading following the news. Meanwhile, regional tech indexes in Europe and Asia declined as regional suppliers such as TSMC, SK Hynix, and ASML dropped alongside broader tech sell-offs.
Global Market Movements and Economic Data
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 dropped 0.35% to end at 7,592.40, and the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.39% to 25,366.09, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 189.40 points, or 0.36%, to close at 52,297.09. Apple shares ticked higher to reach a fresh all-time high of $359.37 during the session.
In economic reports, the National Association of Realtors announced that existing home sales fell 5.5% in October to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 3.75 million, marking the lowest level since August 2010 as mortgage rates climbed. Chief economist Lawrence Yun noted that home buying remains difficult due to high borrowing costs. Concurrently, the Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims rose by 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 200,000 for the week ending November 7.
U.S. Treasury yields were mixed as bond trading resumed following the Veterans Day closure, with the 10-year Treasury yield flat at 4.9920% and the 2-year yield up 3 basis points to 4.7568%. Cleveland Federal Reserve President Beth Hammack stated during the day that she favors gradual, steady interest rate increases rather than aggressive half-point moves to bring inflation back to the 2% target.
International Corporate Updates
In the United Kingdom, economic growth reached 0.7% in the third quarter, matching estimates and improving slightly from the previous quarter’s 0.5% growth, driven by the services sector. Rolls-Royce reiterated its full-year profit and cash flow guidance, pointing to a 62% surge in order intake for power systems driven by data center demand.
Across the Asia-Pacific region, markets closed lower. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.70% to 60,819.36, South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.61%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 1.43%. Corporate earnings in the region brought mixed results: Nissan Motor shares fell 5.22% after reporting a 96% plunge in second-quarter operating profit, while K-pop agency JYP Entertainment surged over 20% following record third-quarter revenue driven by album sales and global tours for boy group Stray Kids.
The company’s board gathered to finalize corporate governance steps following the executive departure.
