US EQUITY OPEN: Tech lags with NVDA after Huang's departure

OPEN: US indices opened in the red, with notable pressure in Nvidia (NVDA) after CEO Huang resigned, while neocloud name Nebius (NBIS) plunged after its FY revenue guidance disappointed. On Nvidia, CFO Kress has been appointed interim CEO, leaving great uncertainty ahead for the tech behemoth given Huang’s importance to the company (Newsquawk analysis piece available on the headline feed at 13:30GMT). Following the news, AMD and AVGO are firmer, with AMD seen as Nvidia’s closest major GPU rival and Broadcom expected to benefit from potential custom-chip opportunities. Technology is the sectoral laggard, while sectors are otherwise broadly in the green, led by Consumer Discretionary and then Energy. Although Nvidia has dominated the tape on Thursday, focus remains on the Middle East. Crude is little changed, having seen upside after Trump posted on Truth Social that the US does not need a deal with Iran, as “those days have long since passed”. Treasuries are lower across the curve ahead of the 30yr auction, and precious metals are also lower. The Dollar Index is extending recent gains, with the Antipodeans lagging and the Yen shrugging off jawboning from Japanese officials.

In the US, jobless claims continue to hover around 200k, consistent with the low-hire, low-fire economy. There is a deluge of Fed speak scheduled, and hawkish dissenter Hammack has already said she prefers smaller and steadier rate moves. This is the first time we have heard from her since Waller floated a potential 50bps hike in December and the hotter-than-expected CPI data, and her preference for “smaller and steadier” moves suggests she is unlikely to join the 50bps camp.

• Nvidia (NVDA): Announced CEO transition, Huang out as CEO and board member. Colette Kress is interim CEO. Initiating search for a permanent CEO, external and internal candidates to be considered. Stock was downgraded beforehand at Evercore, Bernstein, William Blair and Oppenheimer.
• iShares MSCI China ETF (MCHI): Chinese AI firms reportedly rush to secure overseas NVDA capacity on fears of tighter US restrictions after espionage allegations
• AMD (AMD): Upgraded to Outperform at William Blair, citing Intel Xeon delays & Nvidia leadership vacuum
• CoreWeave (CRWV): Reportedly plans to raise at least USD 4bln via IG loan led by Morgan Stanley & MUFG
• Nebius Group (NBIS): Q beat but sees FY26 rev. at low end of range, below exp.
• Eli Lilly (LLY): Won Chinese approval for oral GLP-1 orforglipron for weight management, getting head start over Novo Nordisk
• Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP): Launched USD 2bln underwritten public stock offering
• Strategy (MSTR): MSCI to reportedly remove Co. from its equity indices
• Corteva (CTVA): Profit & rev. light & cut FY guidance on increased pressure in Latin America.

Abrupt CEO exits at index-heavyweight names have historically split into two cases: departures framed as health or scandal, which tend to be sold first and questioned later, and planned successions with an internal heir, which the tape usually absorbs within sessions. An interim appointment from the CFO chair sits between those poles: it preserves operational continuity but leaves strategy, capital allocation and key customer relationships in limbo, and episodes of this kind have tended to keep the stock trading on succession headlines until a permanent hire is named. The unusual feature here is the cluster of downgrades landing immediately before the announcement, a sequence that will draw scrutiny of who knew what and when, and of any follow-through from regulators or the board. The established second-order pattern in semis is the sympathy rotation: closest GPU rival and custom-silicon beneficiaries have tended to gap on leadership-vacuum logic, though historically that relative trade fades faster than the absolute move in the affected name. Worth noting is the backdrop, claims still consistent with a low-hire, low-fire labour market and a heavy slate of Fed speakers after a hawkish dissenter signalled resistance to larger moves, which keeps the macro bid under the index even as its largest constituent drags. Near-term tells are any interim-CEO communication cadence, board commentary on timeline, and whether customers or hyperscalers signal order hesitation, the channel through which past semi leadership shocks have done lasting rather than cosmetic damage.