US Markets Post Best Day Since April as Nvidia Slides on Jensen Huang Scandal

US stocks surged on November 9 to their best single-day performance since April, with the S&P 500 climbing 2.35%, the Nasdaq Composite rising 2.74%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumping 1,104 points, or 2.15%, to close at 52,389.75. The rally was broad, led by a rebound in semiconductor and technology shares and helped by a decline in oil prices, as investors reassessed last week's steep selloff that followed a larger-than-expected Democratic victory in the midterm elections.

The midterm-driven fears had centered on the prospect that Democratic wins could slow AI-related data center spending, hitting chip stocks including Micron hard. Monday's rebound signaled that investors were willing to look past those concerns, at least for a session, with Oppenheimer chief investment strategist John Stoltzfus among those arguing the market could recover.

The lone major exception in the technology sector was Nvidia, whose shares fell roughly 4.3%, erasing nearly $200 billion in market value. The drop came after Nvidia's board announced an independent investigation into CEO Jensen Huang following reports that Chinese intelligence, through Megaspeed CEO Alice Huang, had sought to gather information on him via an intimate relationship he admitted to on Sunday. Bipartisan congressional lawmakers also moved to scrutinize Huang. Because Huang co-founded the company in 1993 and is considered essentially irreplaceable, his uncertain future immediately raised succession concerns: Nvidia represents about 6% of the S&P 500 and has no clearly identified internal successor.

Elsewhere, Meta Platforms gained more than 5.2% after JPMorgan added it to its Analyst Focus list as a preferred internet stock, replacing Alphabet. Asian markets tracked Wall Street's gains overnight, with South Korea's Kospi jumping more than 5%, Japan's Nikkei 225 rising nearly 3%, and a broader gauge of Asian shares advancing 1.5%.