US stocks rallied Monday...but with a notable exception.
Nvidia, the world’s second-most-valuable company, tumbled to its lowest intraday level since March...with the future of its CEO Jensen Huang uncertain.
Huang’s affair with an alleged Chinese spy, pictured with him here, has sparked unease.
US President Trump says he thinks Huang, an ally in Silicon Valley, didn’t know he may have been targeted...though the FBI is looking into it.
DONALD TRUMP, US PRESIDENT:
"I asked him about that and he said he had absolutely no idea that the person in question was a spy. I asked him that question: 'Did you have any idea that she was a spy?'. He said, 'I had no idea that she was a spy'. And I really believe him."
It’s unknown if Nvidia and Huang will come up in Trump’s meeting with China’s President Xi next week. For its part, China says reports the woman in question, Alice Huang, was a spy are fabricated.
GUO JIAKUN, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON:
"We have previously responded to this matter. The so-called claims of a Chinese spy narrative are purely a groundless accusation slander and a smear."
Jensen Huang now faces an internal Nvidia probe. There's also a lawsuit accusing him and the company of defrauding shareholders by concealing his ties to the suspected spy. And Congress has summoned him for a joint committee session in just over a week.
Members of Congress are watching keenly. Senator Chris Coons of Delaware is calling for an investigation into Huang and Nvidia.
And House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has already had a preliminary briefing on the situation.
HAKEEM JEFFRIES, US HOUSE MINORITY LEADER:
"What is clear and the Nvidia issue did come up, but that we're going to need a full briefing. Specifically, as it relates to the Nvidia issue. So we can all get to the bottom of what has happened. And what the implications are in terms of America's national security."
Analysts say that while the market reaction was not as drastic as it could have been, the uncertainty over the future is real.
ANNA RATHBUN, FOUNDER & CEO GRENADILLA ADVISORY:
"That is actually pretty tame and more tame than what I expected. Because Jensen Huang is the face of Nvidia and has been the only CEO for decades. So, this is a very big shake-up. But more to come, I think, this is a waiting game."
As that waiting game begins to play out, shareholders... and governments... are keeping a watchful eye on Huang's next move.
Luffy Li and John Van Trieste for TaiwanPlus.
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