Asian Equities Mixed as Markets Weigh Nvidia Leadership Crisis

By Sherry Qin

Asian equities were mixed Thursday as the potential removal of Jensen Huang as Nvidia chief executive triggered a stress test of the already-fragile AI trade.

Nvidia's board is preparing to oust Huang after he had two extramarital affairs, including one with a suspected Chinese spy and another with an employee, The Wall Street Journal reported. The board is planning to meet as soon as Wednesday to determine Huang's future.

Nvidia's shares tumbled 8.1% in after-market trading and sent e-mini Nasdaq futures down 1.0%.

"Investors now need to take the possibility of a leadership change much more seriously," said Charu Chanana, chief market strategist at Saxo Markets.

Analysts said Huang, who is central to the company's strategic direction, customer relationships and dealings with governments, creates investment risks with his potential departure and makes succession a significant concern.

Still, markets appear to be separating Nvidia's company-specific governance crisis from the broader artificial-intelligence trade so far. "Despite how interconnected the AI ecosystem has become, price action suggests investors are treating this primarily as an idiosyncratic risk to Nvidia," said Pepperstone's head of research, Chris Weston.

Asian equities traded mixed as investors weighed strong tech earnings against the Nvidia risk. South Korea's Kospi edged 0.1% lower, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.3% and Taiwan's Taiex dropped 0.5%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.8% and China's Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.2%.

Among Nvidia's chip suppliers in Asia, contract chip manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. dropped 1.0%, while memory makers SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics were up 0.4% and 2.3%, respectively.

Meanwhile, oil prices fell early Thursday as traders weighed diplomatic efforts to end conflict in the Middle East.

Vice President JD Vance is considering face-to-face talks with a top Iranian security official to end the war, The Wall Street Journal reported. A direct meeting between the vice president and top Iranian security officials would be unusual and show the lengths Vance is willing to go to try to end the war.

OCBC analysts said oil's geopolitical premium is fading amid diplomatic efforts and easing fears of fresh large-scale strikes. While keeping its end-2026 Brent oil forecast at $100 a barrel, OCBC cut its end-2027 estimate to $75 a barrel.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate futures fell 0.9% to $85.77 a barrel, and front-month Brent futures were 0.8% lower at $91.98 a barrel.

An elevated dollar amid increasing bets on an interest-rate hike in December by the Federal Reserve has weighed on Asian currencies. After rising to a 19-month high on Wednesday, the DXY dollar index was last flat at 102.88.

The dollar edged 0.1% lower to 159.63 yen, but the Japanese currency remains on the verge of the 160 level, widely seen as a line in the sand for Japanese authorities. The greenback rose 0.3% to 63.43 Philippine pesos and gained 0.15% to 4.08 Malaysian ringgit.

Write to Sherry Qin at sherry.qin@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 11, 2026 21:23 ET (02:23 GMT)