Nvidia shares rebound a day after Huang’s resignation

U.S. stock futures rose on Friday, November 13, and Nvidia shares recovered some ground a day after co-founder Jensen Huang resigned. His exit sent the chipmaker's stock sharply lower on Thursday and unsettled AI-linked assets around the world. Futures jumped after the October producer price report showed wholesale inflation at a four-year high but rising less than economists expected, MarketWatch News Corp ↘ 2.54% reported.marketwatch.com

The company's board announced on November 12 that Huang had resigned as president, CEO and director, "effective immediately," and that CFO Colette Kress would serve as interim chief executive, according to Nvidia's statement. Former Synopsys CEO Harvey Jones became the board's first-ever chair, and the search for a permanent successor will consider both internal and external candidates, Reuters reported. The resignation came after reports of two extramarital affairs. One involved a woman U.S. officials suspect of working for Chinese intelligence, and the other involved senior Nvidia executive Kimberly Powell, MarketWatch reported.nvidianews.nvidia.com+2

A volatile Thursday

Nvidia fell as much as 14.3% early Thursday before paring losses to close down 4.3%. The company has lost almost $500 billion in market value since the previous week's close, according to CBS News. The broader market recovered from its early lows. The S&P 500 lost 0.35%, the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.4% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.4%, while Advanced Micro Devices rallied as investors looked for winners from its rival's troubles, Investor's Business Daily reported. Before Friday's open, Nvidia was trading higher and AMD was lower, the outlet noted.investors.com+1

Investors now face Nvidia's third-quarter results on Tuesday, November 17, its first report without a permanent CEO, according to Investopedia.investopedia.com

Emerging markets wobble

Investors sold Chinese AI model developers and optical suppliers such as Zhongji Innolight and Eoptolink on Friday. They feared Washington would tighten chip export controls, while homegrown chipmakers like Cambricon gained, Reuters reported. Gavekal Dragonomics wrote that Huang had been "the most influential opponent of tight chip export controls to China."fidelity.com

Emerging-market currencies were broadly steady but mixed. The South African rand fell 0.5% and the Turkish lira slipped 0.2%. The dollar stayed near 19-month highs as traders raised their bets on a 50-basis-point Federal Reserve hike, according to Reuters. MSCI's emerging-market currency index was headed for a third straight weekly loss.fidelity.com

Washington's response

Pressure is also building in Washington. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Congress was moving toward consensus on limiting chip exports to China, Reuters reported. Members of the Senate Banking Committee have asked Huang and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to testify next month on export controls, Investopedia reported.fidelity.com+1