Asian stocks fragile, Nvidia plummets as board to decide CEO's fate

Asian stocks faced uncertainty on Thursday as Nvidia shares plummeted in after-hours trading following news that the company's board may oust CEO Jensen Huang. The board convened late Wednesday to deliberate on the matter, according to a source familiar with the situation. The controversy centers around allegations of an affair Huang had with a suspected Chinese spy, as well as an affair with a company executive who reported to him.

Analyst Jake Dollarhide, CEO of Longbow Asset Management, expressed concern, stating that the board would likely keep Huang on board until they find a suitable replacement from the tech sector. Nvidia's shares fell over 8 percent after the market close, impacting the S&P 500 e-mini futures, which declined 0.4 percent. Regional indexes in South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and the MSCI Asia-Pacific index outside Japan showed positive movement.

On Wall Street, stocks rallied on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 climbing 1.3 percent, nearly erasing losses from the recent US midterm elections. Optimism surrounding AI fueled the market's positive sentiment, with CoreWeave and Anthropic contributing to the gains. Meanwhile, the dollar index remained stable at 102.87, its highest level since April 9, 2023, following a Trump's Liberation Day tariff announcement.

Fed funds futures indicated an 87.3 percent probability of a 25-basis-point interest rate hike at the Federal Reserve's upcoming meeting on December 9, up from a 12.7 percent chance of a 50-basis-point hike. In the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin dipped 0.9 percent to $73,617.58, while Ether decreased 0.9 percent to $2,049.44.