Asian markets opened mixed on Thursday November 12, with little conviction as investors seemed to weigh the fresh turmoil at Nvidia, the chipmaker at the centre of this year's artificial intelligence rally.
Japan's Topix gained 0.51% and the Nikkei 225 added 0.17%. South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.068%, and Taiwan's TAIEX lost 0.24%, while Hang Seng futures dropped 0.7%.
In the chip supply chain, SK Hynix slid, while Samsung Electronics surrendered part of its early gains. Traders also seemed to be watching Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) closely, since any lasting damage to confidence in Nvidia could hit its key suppliers hardest.
In India, the GIFT Nifty pointed to a muted start for the domestic market, though with a positive bias. The Nifty and the Nifty Bank both showed their first signs of exhaustion at higher levels after several sessions of strong gains, which suggested that the market could enter a phase of consolidation before it resumes its uptrend.
The Nifty Bank was particularly in focus for the day's trade having come within 400 points of its previous record high.
Separately, MSCI announced the results of its November review early Thursday. It added four Indian stocks to its Global Standard Index: Life Insurance Corporation of India, Coforge, Adani Green Energy and Meesho.
Currency market in Asia too remains in focus as Japan's top currency official, Atsushi Mimura, told reporters according to a Bloomberg report that the Japanese yen's recent slide had been "too fast", adding that "It's too early to forget what happened this summer." The yen hovered near 160 per dollar, the level at which Tokyo stepped in over the summer.
The trigger for the movement in Asian equities today, came in late US trading as Nvidia shares tumbled about 9% after Bloomberg reported that the company's board was meeting to discuss the future of Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang. Bloomberg said Huang had admitted to an affair with a woman whom US officials reportedly suspect of being a Chinese spy.
The New York Times separately reported that Huang had a relationship with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's healthcare vice president, citing several current and former employees.
The shock cut short a strong day for US technology stocks, when the Nasdaq 100 had climbed 2.3%. Futures reversed course afterwards as Nasdaq 100 contracts fell more than 1%, and S&P 500 contracts lost 0.5%. Server makers Super Micro Computer and Dell Technologies also declined.
Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom rose as traders seemed to have speculated that they could pick up business if Nvidia stumbled. CoreWeave had surged 25% on an upbeat outlook before giving back some of that gain.
In energy markets, Brent crude remained steady at about $92.46 a barrel in early Asia trade, after two straight days of losses. A senior Iranian official rejected the idea of surrendering enriched uranium, which signalled that peace talks between Washington and Tehran remain stalled.
