London (AFP) – Stocks markets wavered on Friday, following a selloff on Wall Street, as traders digested the shock downfall of Nvidia mastermind Jensen Huang. Technology woes remained front of mind at the end of the week, with Microsoft struggling to fix an issue that left users around the world without its Outlook email app. Asian stocks traded mixed, while European indices were largely unchanged.
Markets also geared up for the release of the US producer price index for October, seeking further clues about the inflation outlook for the world’s largest economy. Traders are weighing the possibility of a bigger-than-expected interest rate hike at the Federal Reserve’s next meeting in December, following a hotter-than-expected consumer price index reading.
Chip titan Nvidia has been at the centre of a storm this week after reports emerged that Huang — a pivotal figure in the AI explosion in recent years — had had several extramarital affairs, including with a woman accused of spying for China. Huang stepped down as chief executive on Thursday in the face of a boardroom revolt, initially sending shares in the company down 14 percent before paring losses to end the day around four percent lower. Nvidia’s share price has fallen about a fifth since news of the first affair broke at the end of last month. Nvidia’s board has appointed chief financial officer Colette Kress to replace Huang on an interim basis.
The scandal “does not change the fact that Nvidia offers leading chips and a powerful software ecosystem, which customers need in the middle of an AI boom,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, as Nvidia prepares to publish its latest earnings next week. While Tokyo and Taipei stock markets remained in positive territory at the close Friday, Seoul finished down one percent. There were also losses in Hong Kong and Shanghai. In Europe, London and Frankfurt edged up, while Paris was flat around midday.
Oil prices steadied on Friday, after the International Energy Agency said global oil supplies are expected to exceed demand in the fourth quarter. US President Donald Trump on Thursday called on Vice President JD Vance to focus on domestic issues rather than negotiations with Tehran, signalling fading interest in a peace deal. The comments followed a sharp drop in crude this month on optimism the president would push for a long-standing deal with Tehran after saying he would not restart military action against Iran.
– Key figures at around 1200 GMT –
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 10,881.32 points
Paris – CAC 40: FLAT at 8,364.01
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.1 percent at 26,804.58
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.5 percent at 61,142.35 (close)
Seoul – Kospi: DOWN 1.0 percent at 5,290.53 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.6 percent at 23,637.60 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.6 percent at 3,634.35 (close)
New York – DOW: DOWN 0.4 percent at 52,297.09 (close)
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.1 percent at $95.89 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.4 percent at $88.41 per barrel
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1054 from $1.1055 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3232 from $1.3235
Dollar/yen: UP at 159.95 yen from 159.84 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 83.55 pence from 83.53 pence
© 2024 AFP
