HONG KONG, Nov 12 — Asian stocks fell Thursday as investors kept a nervous eye on Nvidia whose influential boss Jensen Huang faces a probe into an affair with a woman accused of spying for China.

Companies linked to the artificial intelligence sector have enjoyed a healthy bounce in recent days after last week’s selloff sparked by regulatory concerns following the Democratic sweep of Congress.

The upcoming IPO of Anthropic and positive earnings from the likes of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and data centre operator CoreWeave – which soothed worries about its financial health – have reinforced optimism.

Chipmakers SK hynix, Samsung, Kioxia and TSMC have led the surge in Asia, even amid rising expectations for a series of US interest rate hikes.

All three main indexes on Wall Street ended on another strong note Wednesday.

But Asia’s run-up came to an end despite a healthy start to the day.

Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taipei, Sydney, Singapore, Mumbai, Bangkok and Manila all dropped, though there were gains in Jakarta and Wellington.

Traders’ nerves are being tested by the crisis at Nvidia, with co-founder and CEO Huang facing the boot after he admitted a relationship with Alice Huang, a senior executive at Singapore-based data centre company Megaspeed.

US intelligence reportedly circulated a memo in spring alleging Alice Huang was an asset of China’s Ministry of State Security.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that Huang was also involved in a second extramarital affair, with the company’s vice president of health care, Kimberly Powell.

The tech company’s board was preparing to meet as soon as Wednesday to determine Huang’s future, according to the Wall Street Journal, which quoted people familiar with the matter.

Huang has built Nvidia to be one of the world’s biggest and most important companies, designing advanced chips crucial to the AI buildout that has helped drive stock markets to record highs and boosted economies around the world.

Succession concerns

“Nvidia has spent years convincing investors that it is one of the most important companies in the AI revolution,” wrote Charu Chanana at Saxo Markets.

“Now, the biggest question surrounding the company is not about its chips, competitors or earnings.

“It is about its founder.”

She said Huang was key to the firm’s future, including dealings with governments.

“Nvidia’s technological advantage would not disappear with his departure,” she added.

“Its CUDA software ecosystem, product capabilities and customer relationships remain formidable strengths.

“But an abrupt exit without a credible succession plan could force investors to reassess how much of Nvidia’s future depends on Huang personally.”

Nvidia’s shares slid more than eight per cent in after-hours US trade, and are down around 20 per cent since news of the affair broke at the end of last month.

Oil prices inched down as investors kept tabs on the Middle East crisis, with hopes still high that the US and Iran can reach a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

On currency markets the rupiah hit a record low against the dollar as traders rushed into the US unit on expectations the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates into the new year.

Asia’s worst-performing currency this year weakened to as much as 18,253 to the greenback in afternoon trade, spurring the Indonesian central bank to intervene to provide support.

The drop came just before the country’s vice president resigned in the midst of a scandal over his high school diploma, adding to pressure on a government facing widespread dissatisfaction over the economy, graft and wildfires.

Key figures at around 0700 GMT

Tokyo — Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.7 per cent at 60,819.36 (close)

Seoul — Kospi: DOWN 0.6 per cent at 5,342.73 (close)

Hong Kong — Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.3 per cent at 24,009.72

Shanghai — Composite: DOWN 0.7 per cent at 3,655.83 (close)

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.1 per cent at US$86.44 (RM351.8) per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.1 per cent at US$92.67 (RM377.2) per barrel

Euro/dollar: DOWN at US$1.1073 from US$1.1092 on Wednesday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at US$1.3253 from US$1.3278

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 159.84 from 159.86 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 83.56 from 83.54 pence