Japan Nikkei steadied as Nvidia shares were up about 2 percent before the bell on Friday, a day after Jensen Huang resigned and the stock closed down 4.34 percent at 166.19 dollars. The rebound in premarket trading gave Asian markets a steadier start after a week in which the Nvidia turmoil had rattled technology stocks across the region.
Why it matters
The selling in Asia had been sharp. The Nikkei fell 0.71 percent on Thursday as the turmoil spread from the chip sector across the wider market, and SoftBank shares fell 3 percent in Tokyo on the day. The technology investor is one of the biggest backers of the AI buildout, and its shares have been sensitive to every turn in the AI trade.
The futures picture was mixed ahead of the United States open. S and P 500 futures rose 0.3 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.2 percent, while Nvidia gained in premarket trading to recoup some of the losses that followed Huang departure. Shorter end Treasuries bounced ahead of the producer price print, though two year notes remained on track for their worst week since 2024.
What happens next
Europe told a different story on Thursday, with the STOXX 600 climbing to a record on strong corporate earnings and lower energy prices. The divergence shows that the turmoil is centred on AI and chips, not on the wider global economy, and that Europe, with less exposure to the chipmakers at the centre of the storm, was able to climb while the AI trade fell.
For now, Asia is waiting on the producer price data due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. A hot reading would hit the same technology stocks that are trying to steady, with the 10 year Treasury yield at 5.127 percent and a December rate hike fully priced. The rebound is real, but it is fragile.
The selling spread beyond Japan as the session went on. Nasdaq 100 futures fell about 0.64 percent and S and P 500 futures slipped, while chipmakers Intel, Marvell Technology and Micron fell between 1.9 percent and 2.8 percent in premarket trading. Europe told a different story, with the STOXX 600 gaining around 0.30 percent shortly after the open to reach a record high.
