Seoul shares open higher on Wall Street tech rally amid Nvidia controversies

SEOUL, November 12 - South Korean shares opened higher, mirroring overnight gains on Wall Street fueled by a surge in the technology sector amid mounting controversies surrounding Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), which serves as the benchmark for South Korean stocks, experienced a modest increase of 10.58 points, or 0.2 percent, to reach 5,385.94 at the opening of trading.

On the previous trading day, three major indices on Wall Street demonstrated strength, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 0.49 percent, the S&P 500 climbing 1.31 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite surging 1.6 percent. Investors were buoyed by robust earnings reports from CoreWeave, a neocloud firm, which helped alleviate concerns regarding the sustainability of substantial AI investments.

However, Nvidia faced a significant setback after the closing bell, as reports emerged indicating that the company's board was contemplating the dismissal of Huang. Subsequently, a New York Times article revealed that Huang was embroiled in an extramarital affair with a company executive reporting to him, while Huang himself acknowledged a romantic relationship with a person suspected of being a Chinese spy.