Wall Street opened lower on Thursday, as the resignation of Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang unsettled investors and triggered renewed selling across artificial intelligence and semiconductor stocks, with the Nasdaq Composite leading declines among the major US indices.
At the opening bell, the Nasdaq Composite fell 374.1 points, or 1.47%, to 25,092.11, as investors reassessed the outlook for one of the world’s most influential AI chipmakers.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 58.5 points, or 0.11%, to 52,427.94, while the broader S&P 500 dropped 68.5 points, or 0.90%, to 7,550.84.
The weakness followed Nvidia’s announcement that Jensen Huang had resigned as President, Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board with immediate effect, ending more than three decades of leadership at the company he co-founded in 1993.
Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress has been appointed interim Chief Executive Officer, retaining her existing finance responsibilities while Nvidia searches for a permanent successor.
The announcement initially sent Nvidia shares plunging more than 13%, although the stock subsequently recovered part of its losses.
Nvidia was later trading 7.7% lower, representing an estimated $320 billion reduction in market capitalisation at that point in the session.
The partial recovery reduced the scale of the initial sell-off but left shares under substantial pressure as investors considered the implications of Huang’s departure for Nvidia’s strategy and relationships with major customers.
The leadership change follows an independent board investigation into allegations concerning Huang’s personal conduct and a possible foreign intelligence operation.
Nvidia has previously stated that it has no reason to believe company secrets or US national security information were compromised. The allegations remain subject to investigation, and Huang’s resignation does not establish that any unlawful transfer of information occurred.
Selling pressure extended to companies exposed to AI computing and infrastructure investment, reflecting Nvidia’s central position in the global semiconductor supply chain.
CoreWeave shares fell 7.42% to $56.26, reversing some of the gains recorded following the cloud infrastructure provider’s recent quarterly results.
The decline highlighted the sensitivity of AI infrastructure companies to developments affecting Nvidia, whose processors are widely used in advanced computing and data centre operations.
Micron Technology declined approximately 2% to $795.07, adding to weakness across semiconductor shares as investors reassessed demand expectations and the broader sector outlook.
The falls interrupted a technology-led recovery earlier in the week, when encouraging corporate earnings and strong interest in Anthropic’s forthcoming initial public offering had helped restore some confidence in AI-related investments.
However, Thursday’s decline was not confined to technology companies.
Paysafe shares plunged 37% to $4.30 after the digital payments group reported disappointing third-quarter results and reduced its financial outlook.
The company reported third-quarter revenue of $439.6 million, up 1% year-on-year, while adjusted EBITDA fell 17% to $105.7 million.
Paysafe also recorded a net loss of $247.5 million, adding to investor concerns about profitability and the outlook for the business.
The sharp share-price decline reflected company-specific financial pressures rather than a direct consequence of Nvidia’s leadership change.
The contrasting performance of individual stocks demonstrates the challenges facing Wall Street, with uncertainty surrounding artificial intelligence leadership and investment coinciding with weaker results from selected businesses.
Nvidia remains a major influence on technology market sentiment because of its position in supplying advanced processors used by cloud providers, AI developers and large technology companies.
The appointment of Colette Kress provides interim management continuity, although investors will be seeking further clarity on the permanent leadership structure and the company’s strategic direction.
The wider market reaction also comes during a period of heightened sensitivity to US inflation and interest rate expectations, which have contributed to recent volatility across growth-oriented equities.
Wall Street’s opening decline underscores the significance of Nvidia’s leadership transition, with the company’s partial share-price recovery offering some relief but failing to reverse the initial negative reaction.
Attention will now turn to Nvidia’s search for a permanent chief executive, developments in its independent investigation and whether selling pressure across AI-related stocks continues through Thursday’s trading session.
