Nvidia shares plunged after founder Jensen Huang abruptly resigned as CEO, but gains in other chipmakers helped the S&P 500 erase an opening loss of nearly 1% within about 90 minutes on Nov. 12. The index’s quick recovery showed that the selloff in Nvidia had not immediately spread across the broader market, as investor views on demand for AI chips continued to shape flows across the sector.
Nvidia briefly loses about $600 billion in market value
Nvidia shares fell as much as 14% during the session, wiping out roughly $600 billion in market value at their low. The decline later eased. The S&P 500 also rebounded from its nearly 1% drop at the open, recovering those losses about 90 minutes into trading.
The selloff followed Huang’s departure. Nvidia appointed its finance chief, Colette Kress, as interim CEO. The leadership change focused attention on the transition at the top and on whether it could affect customer spending or expectations for growth.
AMD and Broadcom gains temper chip-sector losses
As Nvidia fell, some investors shifted toward rivals. AMD rose about 7%, while Broadcom gained more than 5%, helping offset Nvidia’s drag on the market. The divergence suggested that interest in AI-chip demand had not disappeared with the management change, although investors were reallocating among companies in the sector.
Retail buying provided some support for Nvidia shares. During the first half-hour of trading, individual investors were estimated to have bought about $111 million worth of the stock. That activity showed some market participants were buying into the sharp decline, but did not indicate a consensus on the company’s future performance.
Nov. 17 earnings report in focus
Nvidia is scheduled to report earnings on Nov. 17. Investors will be watching customer spending and growth expectations while assessing the implications of the leadership transition for the company’s outlook.
The S&P 500 quickly recovered its losses on Nov. 12, while Nvidia shares remained highly volatile. The gap between the index’s performance and Nvidia’s trading reflected support for market breadth from other large chipmakers.