Nvidia plunges but tech shares rebound, oil prices slump

Technology share prices clawed back last week’s sharp losses on Monday (November 9, 2026), despite a plunge in Nvidia following a probe into its boss Jensen Huang over claims of an affair with an alleged Chinese spy.

Oil prices fell over 5% on hopes for diplomatic talks aimed at ending the U.S.-Iran war, before paring losses.

Chipmakers and other companies linked to the artificial intelligence boom took a hammering in the days after last Tuesday’s U.S. midterm elections, which saw Democrats sweep both chambers of Congress, leading to speculation lawmakers would seek to rein in tech firms.

But Wall Street on Monday (November 9, 2026) rebounded, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbing more than 2%.

Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare said the rebound in equities was due to more than just the drop in oil prices.

“What we also have this morning is an inclination to buy into last week’s weakness, and specifically into the large losses seen in the AI trade,” he said in a note to clients.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, which includes major chipmakers and AI firms, jumped more than 6%.

But the gains did not extend to Nvidia, which saw its shares slump more than 8% as trading got under way in New York, but recovered to stand down more than 5% in early afternoon trading.

Mr. O’Hare said Nvidia was being treated as a one-off story by investors for the moment.

“In other words, the stock is being penalized for Jensen Huang’s personal transgression, which has invited a great deal of uncertainty into the mix, but the market isn’t caught up in the notion that this situation is going to have a systemic domino effect,” he said.

The news that Nvidia’s board would investigate whether Mr. Huang had been targeted in a foreign espionage plot, following his admission he was unfaithful to his wife, brought fresh uncertainty in the markets.

The New York Times last month reported that U.S. intelligence officials concluded a Chinese executive linked to a Singapore-based data centre company called Megaspeed had been funnelling information to Beijing.

The executive, Alice Huang — also known as Huang Le, and no relation to 63-year-old Taiwanese-born Mr. Jensen Huang — developed a close relationship with the Nvidia boss, the Times said.

In a message to company employees released to media on Sunday (November 8, 2026), Mr. Huang acknowledged having an affair and apologised to his family and company staff.

Nvidia is a global leader in producing chips used to train and run AI models and one of the world’s most valuable companies, and last year became the first to reach a market capitalisation of $5 trillion.

Technology analyst Dan Ives, at the investment bank Yorkville Ives, said the crisis would at the very least spark congressional inquiries and “create an overhang on the stock for a myriad of reasons”.

China on Monday (November 9, 2026) said the claims that it had spied on Mr. Huang were “baseless”.

Europe’s main stock markets rose following gains across much of Asia.

The dollar fell against its main rivals.

Oil prices continued to slide as Iran and the United States continued talking instead of fighting.

“Two month lows in oil have done much to bolster bruised sentiment in global markets, and the admittedly small signs of progress in peace talks adds to downward move,” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading and investing platform IG.