U.S. equity futures rose Thursday evening after major indexes dipped and Nvidia shares fell, following the exit of its founder and CEO Jensen Huang amid an ongoing scandal.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 166 points, or 0.3%. S&P 500 futures gained 0.4%, while Nasdaq-100 futures advanced 0.6%.
The action comes after the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 dropped about 0.4% each in regular trading. The Dow slid almost 190 points, or 0.4%. Nvidia's 4.3% decline dragged down the three major averages, even as the chip stock ended the session off its lows.
Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher Friday, with South Korea's Kospi leading gains in the region, up 2.6%. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.46% while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.79%.
On Thursday, Huang stepped down from his post at the chip company following reported extramarital affairs, including a relationship with a woman U.S. intelligence officials believe is a Chinese spy. Analysts told CNBC that Huang's exit could trigger a 20% correction in the stock.
Nvidia's chief financial officer Colette Kress, who's worked at the company for more than a decade, will lead the chipmaker as interim CEO. The company's board is looking both internally and externally for a full-time replacement for Huang.
A jump in oil prices also kept stocks under pressure Thursday, with Brent crude rising more than 3% on the day to settle at $95.82 a barrel. Oil climbed after President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post, "We don't need a deal with Iran." The comment raised concerns that the U.S.-Iran war could drag on further.
Another market catalyst awaits on Friday in the form of October's producer price index reading, a measure of wholesale inflation. Economists polled by Dow Jones see headline PPI rising 0.4% on the month and 6.6% from 12 months earlier.
Even with the latest bout of market turbulence, the major averages are heading for weekly advances. The Nasdaq is up 3.2%, while the S&P 500 is on pace for a 2.9% advance. The Dow is poised for a nearly 2% jump. All three indexes are heading for their best weekly performances since early August.
1 Hour AgoJapan's Nikkei 225 and South Korea's Kospi gain at open
Asian markets were mostly higher Friday, as investors digest the developments at chip behemoth Nvidia.
South Korea's Kospi led gains in the region at 2.79% up, while the small-cap Kosdaq was 2.43% higher.
Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.06%, and the broad based Topix inched up 0.25%.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.73%.
— Lim Hui Jie
2 Hours AgoInverse Nvidia ETFs climbed as chip giant sold off on scandal
Nvidia shareholders took their lumps on Thursday, but traders betting against the stock managed to clean up pretty well.
A slate of exchange-traded funds that aim to generate performance that's inverse to that of Nvidia climbed in the regular session. The Direxion Daily NVDA Bear 1X ETF (NVDD) added 4.4%.
Strategies that use leverage, which magnifies performance, while making inverse bets on Nvidia did even better on Thursday.
GraniteShares 2x Short NVDA Daily ETF vs. Nvidia on ThursdayThe Tradr 1.5X Short NVDA Daily ETF (NVDS) jumped 6.7%, while the GraniteShares 2x Short NVDA Daily ETF (NVD) and the T-REX 2X Inverse NVIDIA Daily Target ETF (NVDQ) each added about 9% on the day.
Even as these strategies fared well while Nvidia shares dropped, traders considering them should be mindful of the risk.
Leveraged ETFs can magnify losses, while inverse strategies are meant to be held for one day and can suffer if they're held long term. These funds also tend to be costly, with expense ratios exceeding 1%.
—Darla Mercado
2 Hours AgoJapan's Nikkei 225 futures trade higher as investors assess Huang's resignation
Asia-Pacific markets were set for a mixed open Friday as investors assess the leadership shake up at tech giant Nvidia, including the resignation of founder Jensen Huang.
Futures for Japan's Nikkei 225 in Chicago were at 61,415, while in Osaka they were last at 61,210, compared with the index's previous close of 60,819.36.
However, futures for Hong Kong's Hang Seng index last traded at 23,914, while the index's last closed at 24,008.55
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.45% in early trading.
— Lim Hui Jie
3 Hours AgoU.S. stock futures tick higher Thursday evening
U.S. equity futures opened modestly higher Thursday, just after 6 p.m. ET.
S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures added about 0.2%, while Dow futures gained 40 points.
--Darla Mercado
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