Shares in Nvidia have plunged following the resignation of founder and chief executive Jensen Huang, with almost $500bn wiped from the chipmaker’s market value in less than a week.
Huang, who founded the AI technology giant 33 years ago, stepped down following allegations surrounding his personal relationships and growing scrutiny of the company’s business dealings.
Shares initially fell more than 14% on Thursday before recovering to close 4.3% lower, valuing Nvidia at $3.92trn, down from more than $5trn last month.
Finance director Colette Kress has been appointed interim chief executive while the board searches for a permanent successor.
The leadership crisis comes amid investor lawsuits and a US investigation into the alleged transfer of restricted Nvidia AI chips to Chinese companies.
Erik Kratz, Chief Investment Officer at Arena Private Wealth, said: “This is a key-person event, not a demand event. Nobody is cancelling GPU orders because the CEO resigned. Historically, stocks take time to find a bottom after an abrupt CEO exit while the market works through the investigations and the search.”
FSTE100
The UK's flagship share index, the FTSE 100, was down 1 point at 10,859 shortly after opening this morning.
Brent crude oil futures were up 0.29%, sitting at $96.10 a barrel this morning.
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