Nvidia Slips Nearly 5% as Board Probes CEO Spy Case
By @sharedot · · 6 pages
- Finance
- Stock Market
- Nvidia
Nvidia fell almost 5% Monday after its board launched a probe into CEO Jensen Huang, even as broader US futures rose on a dip-buying rebound.
Futures climb while Nvidia stumbles
US stocks opened Monday on firmer footing after the S&P 500 suffered its worst week since April 2025. According to Bloomberg, futures for the S&P 500 climbed 0.6% and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.5% as oil prices fell and dip-buyers picked up beaten-down shares.
Nvidia bucked the broader gains, falling nearly 5% in early trading. Investor's Business Daily reports Dow futures also rose solidly early Monday alongside S&P and Nasdaq contracts, despite what IBD describes as ugly losses last week capped by Thursday's huge, broad sell-off.
The board probe that jolted the AI leader
The single biggest shock to the market's AI trade is self-inflicted. Nvidia's board has launched an independent probe into CEO Jensen Huang in the wake of reporting about his affair with a woman identified as a suspected Chinese spy, Investor's Business Daily reports.
Bloomberg similarly says Huang admitted the affair, sending the chipmaker's shares down nearly 5% in early trading while an exchange-traded fund tracking chipmakers fluctuated.
Why the contrast is striking
The surprise is that a Nvidia leadership scandal could not derail a rebound attempt. After last week's rout, buyers returned to beaten-down shares, and falling oil prices gave the market a lift, per Bloomberg's Markets Wrap.
That dip-buying appetite echoes the bull case circulating in the pack commentary around 'Bulls Buy the Rout,' while hedge funds are reported to be fleeing tech.
Notably, Citi's Manthey says value and quality could outperform AI stocks, suggesting the rotation away from high-flying chip names has institutional backing even as the flagship AI stock absorbs a governance scare of its own making.
Stakes and what to watch next
Nvidia is the bellwether of the AI trade, so the outcome of the board's independent probe matters far beyond one stock. An overhang at the top of the AI supply chain could deepen the tech rotation Citi's strategist described and test whether last week's rout was the bottom or just a pause.
The near-term calendar offers little shelter: inflation data is due alongside earnings from AI-exposed names such as CoreWeave this week, per Investor's Business Daily.