Asia Stocks Stage Tentative Rebound as Nvidia Uncertainty Lingers

By Fabiana Negrin Ochoa and Jiahui Huang

Asia's bruised technology stocks staged a tentative rebound early Friday after a sharp selloff opened the door to bargain-hunting, while uncertainty about the impact of Jensen Huang's Nvidia lingers.

Nvidia shares slid as much as 14% during U.S. trading before paring losses to 4.3%. Broader tech stocks followed suit, with the Nasdaq recouping ground to finish 0.4% lower.

On Friday, U.S. futures pointed higher, signaling some relief as Huang's resignation and the stepping in of Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress as interim CEO gives traders some clarity on the leadership transition at the company at the core of the global AI economy.

Tech-heavy indexes in Asia gained in early trading before losing some steam, though they stayed in the green.

South Korea's Kospi climbed 3.0% before pulling back slightly, still on course to rebound from the previous session. Chip stocks helped lift the index, with Samsung Electronics and major Nvidia supplier SK Hynix both posting early gains of more 3%.

Semiconductor companies buoyed Japan's Nikkei, too, which was last 1% higher.

In Taiwan, the benchmark Taiex was up by more than 2% as index heavyweight Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. rose by a similar magnitude.

The momentum carried over into China and Hong Kong, where major chip maker SMIC rose sharply in wake of strong earnings before trimming gains to about 1%. Cambricon Technologies followed a similar trajectory in Shanghai, last trading 1.2% higher.

Still, it is too early to call the AI trade one way or another, as volatility remains high.

Worries that investigations into the controversy that led to Huang's resignation will lead to tighter oversight over chip exports will continue to dominate market sentiment as the situation unfolds.

"More consolidation in Asian equities can be expected today amidst further realignment in the tech and semiconductor sector," UOB analysts wrote in a note.

It's also too early to say what the longer-term impact on Asian supply chains will be.

Asia has enormous depth across the semiconductor value chain, said Chris Hampden, senior vice president at Proxima, a Bain & Co. company.

"That provides the industry with some ability to adjust if demand moves between different chip designers," Hampden said. "The potential impact will depend on whether we subsequently see changes to orders, capacity commitments, distribution channels or the regulatory environment."

Elsewhere, oil was lower after rebounding overnight following President Trump's remarks that the U.S. no longer needs a deal with Iran. Front-month Brent was last 0.3% lower at $95.48 a barrel, while WTI was down 0.6% at $88.23 a barrel.

Gold gained ground, rising 0.8% to $3,908 an ounce, inching toward the closely watched $4,000 level.

The dollar softened slightly, but the DXY index remained at around 19-month highs, continuing to pressure Asian currencies.

Write to Fabiana Negrin Ochoa at fabiana.negrinochoa@wsj.com and Jiahui Huang at jiahui.huang@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 12, 2026 23:02 ET (04:02 GMT)