Hong Kong (AFP) – Asian stocks rose Thursday to extend a global tech-led rally, though investors kept a nervous eye on Nvidia as influential boss Jensen Huang faced a probe into an affair with a woman accused of spying for China. Companies linked to the artificial intelligence sector have enjoyed a healthy bounce in recent days after last week’s selloff sparked by regulatory concerns following the Democratic sweep of Congress last week.
The upcoming IPO of Anthropic and positive earnings from the likes of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and data centre operator CoreWeave — which soothed worries about its financial health — have reinforced optimism. Chipmakers SK hynix, Samsung, Kioxia and TSMC have led the surge in Asia, even amid rising expectations for a series of US interest rate hikes.
All three main indexes on Wall Street ended on another strong note Wednesday, though Asia stuttered. Tokyo, Seoul and Taipei were among the best performers again, while Shanghai, Singapore, Wellington and Jakarta were also well up, though Hong Kong, Sydney and Manila retreated. Traders’ nerves are being tested by the crisis at Nvidia, with co-founder and CEO Huang facing the boot after he admitted a relationship with Alice Huang, a senior executive at Singapore-based data centre company Megaspeed.
US intelligence reportedly circulated a memo in spring alleging Alice Huang was an asset of China’s Ministry of State Security. Meanwhile, the New York Times reported Wednesday that Huang was also involved in a second extramarital affair, with the company’s vice president of health care, Kimberly Powell. The tech company’s board was preparing to meet as soon as Wednesday to determine Huang’s future, according to the Wall Street Journal, which quoted people familiar with the matter.
Huang has built Nvidia to be one of the world’s biggest and most important companies, designing advanced chips crucial to the AI buildout that has helped drive stock markets to record highs and boosted economies around the world. “Nvidia has spent years convincing investors that it is one of the most important companies in the AI revolution,” wrote Charu Chanana at Saxo Markets. “Now, the biggest question surrounding the company is not about its chips, competitors or earnings. It is about its founder.”
She said Huang was key to the firm’s future, including dealings with governments. “But when so much of a company’s success is associated with one individual, leadership becomes an investment risk.” Nvidia has a deep management team, but no publicly identified successor to Huang. An unexpected departure could create uncertainty around strategic continuity, customer relationships and execution. Nvidia’s shares slid more than eight percent in after-hours US trade, and are down around 20 percent since news of the affair broke at the end of last month.
Oil prices edged back down as investors kept tabs on the Middle East crisis, with hopes still high that the US and Iran can reach a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. On currency markets, the dollar held gains against its peers following its latest jump on the back of forecast-topping US inflation data that ramped up bets on more Fed rate hikes.
– Key figures at around 0230 GMT –
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.8 percent at 61,714.16
Seoul – Kospi: UP 1.2 percent at 5,463.98
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.1 percent at 24,043.69
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,694.28
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.2 percent at $85.51 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 1.2 percent at $91.63 per barrel
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1097 from $1.1092 on Wednesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3280 from $1.3278
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 159.60 from 159.86 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 83.56 from 83.54 pence
© 2024 AFP
