Key Notes
- Nasdaq-100 futures recovered after falling as much as 1% at the Asian open on Monday.
- Nvidia remained under pressure while broader US index futures traded higher before the regular session.
- October consumer-price figures are due Tuesday as investors reassess technology valuations and financing costs.
Nasdaq-100 futures erased an early drop of as much as 1% on Monday after news of an investigation involving Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA) chief executive Jensen Huang unsettled trading. The reversal left technology-index contracts back in positive territory, even as Nvidia itself remained under pressure.
The contracts initially fell at the Asian open before recovering those losses, Bloomberg reported in a market update published at 06:04 UTC. The move came after Nvidia’s board announced an independent review of reports that Huang had been targeted by a foreign intelligence effort.
In a market update published at 09:05 UTC, Yahoo Finance had Nasdaq-100 futures just above flat. S&P 500 futures were up 0.3% and Dow futures had gained 0.8%. Those readings describe trading before Monday’s regular US stock-market session, rather than closing returns.
Nvidia Remains Under Pressure
The recovery in index futures did not extend to Nvidia. Yahoo Finance reported its stock down about 4% in early premarket trading, leaving the chipmaker moving in the opposite direction from the broader US benchmarks.
Earlier, Nvidia futures traded at $179.77, down 4.1%, according to a Dow Jones Newswires report timestamped 05:10 UTC.
Directors Back Huang While Reviewing Allegations
Nvidia’s board statement says a committee of independent directors, assisted by outside counsel, will oversee the investigation. Directors expressed confidence in Huang and his leadership team and said they had no reason to believe company secrets or US national security had been compromised.
Huang acknowledged marital infidelity in an employee letter and pledged to cooperate with the review. His admission did not establish the espionage allegations. The board has not announced findings or a change in leadership.
Asian Chip Stocks Find Buyers
Technology shares elsewhere were recovering from last week’s losses. Taiwan’s Taiex jumped as much as 6.7% in Monday trading, according to Bloomberg, ending a seven-session losing streak.
That recovery followed short-selling curbs announced by Taiwan’s authorities. The measures cut the permitted volume of short-selling orders using borrowed shares to 3% of average daily turnover, from 30%, and raised the minimum margin requirement to 130%, from 90%.
Homin Lee, senior macro strategist at Lombard Odier in Singapore, told Bloomberg that Taiwan’s stabilization measures were “overpowering any impact from the Jensen Huang development.”
Inflation Is the Next Market Test
The recovery follows a bruising week for US technology investors. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.1% on Friday but still finished the week down 3.37%, its fourth consecutive weekly decline, according to Saxo Bank.
Index futures allow traders to adjust exposure while the regular US share market is closed. CME Group operates its equity-index futures market for 23 hours a day, so prices can respond to weekend announcements well before the opening bell.
Attention now turns to inflation and the cost of financing the AI buildout. Higher borrowing costs would put further pressure on companies spending heavily on computing capacity, even if buyers continue to pick up beaten-down shares.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is scheduled to release October consumer-price figures on Tuesday, November 10, at 08:30 Eastern time, or 13:30 UTC. Producer-price data follow at the same time on Friday, giving investors two inflation readings before the week ends.
