By Mike Dolan
Nov 9 (Reuters) – A nervy tech sector starts the week with a nearly 4% slide in AI chip giant Nvidia on a bizarre tale of an extramarital affair and spying allegations.
Nvidia boss Jensen Huang admitted to employees that he’d had an affair with a woman who news reports claimed was spying for China. The company said it was investigating those allegations and Huang’s position may now be in the balance.
As Huang is a central figure in the whole AI buildout and an industry power figure in relations with Washington and governments around the world, markets may now be pricing the risk of his removal.
President Trump’s initial response was to give Huang the benefit of the doubt, but he too faces questions about reports that he didn’t act when intelligence originally briefed him on the situation several months ago.
Either way, the story will not calm anxieties in the AI investment world, which has just suffered its worst week in well over a year despite Friday’s relief rally. It may also simply play into the hands of Nvidia competitors such as AMD and other leading chipmakers.
Asia stocks followed Friday’s Wall Street tech bounce with gains of their own on Monday.
Markets were also digesting Friday’s strong US payrolls report, where broad-based job gains came in at twice forecasts and lifted the three-month average payroll gain to more than 130,000 per month. Bets on another Federal Reserve interest rate rise next month pushed higher as a result.
Elsewhere, oil prices slipped on Monday after Trump indicated at the weekend that there would be no immediate re-escalation of the Iran conflict – a decision that follows the Republican Party’s heavy defeats in last week’s midterm elections.
In the background, Israeli opposition parties under Gadi Eisenkot have been given the first chance to form a government following the recent inconclusive elections there.
In China, there was a mixed picture on October inflation, with producer price inflation accelerating strongly but consumer price gains slipping back once more.
Otherwise, the release of US consumer price inflation data on Tuesday will top the economic release calendar this week as the earnings season starts to wind down.
CHART OF THE DAY
Nvidia shares fell sharply on Monday after news of the probe into Jensen Huang, which has put a spotlight on his future given Nvidia’s status as the world’s most valuable chipmaker and the CEO’s role as the most prolific salesman of the AI boom.
TODAY’S EVENTS TO WATCH
• US 3-year note auction (1 p.m. EST)
• Fed’s Michelle Bowman, Chicago Fed’s Austan Goolsbee and Richmond Fed’s Thomas Barkin speak
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