Jensen Huang out at Nvidia; CFO Colette Kress interim CEO

The resignation follows reports that Huang, a pivotal figure in the AI boom, had carried on two extramarital affairs, including with a woman accused of spying for China. After days of speculation, he stepped down Thursday in the face of a boardroom revolt, and CFO Colette Kress took over on an interim basis. Nvidia's share price had already fallen about a fifth since news of the first affair broke at the end of last month; it dropped around 14 percent after the resignation but rebounded on dip-buying to close a little more than four percent down, and was up one percent in after-hours trade.

While the crisis raised concerns about the AI boom, which had already been stuttering owing to profitability questions, observers pointed out that business would continue and Huang's departure would not affect short-term projects already in the works. Michael Hewson of MCH Market Insights wrote that with Nvidia's numbers out next week, the noise around its CEO, while unwelcome, doesn't change the business case for Nvidia, even if it raises some questions about corporate governance. He added that those questions are likely to continue to rumble and there is a danger Nvidia might become collateral damage as Democrats take aim at a business that has aligned itself closely to the Trump administration.

The firm's competitors benefited, with Broadcom and Advanced Micro Devices both rallying in New York, though all three markets on Wall Street ended lower. In Asia, Seoul, Tokyo and Taipei climbed between 1.3 and three percent, with South Korea's SK hynix and Samsung well up along with Taiwan's TSMC and Kioxia of Japan. There were also gains in Shanghai, Jakarta and Manila, though Hong Kong, Sydney, Singapore and Wellington fell. Investors were also keeping tabs on the Middle East crisis after Donald Trump called on Vice President JD Vance to focus on domestic issues rather than negotiations with Tehran, signalling fading interest in a peace deal.