Trading has been dictated by Nvidia CEO uncertainty

Asia market update: Trading has been dictated by Nvidia CEO uncertainty; Mimura warned Yen traders; US/Iran direct talks?; SMIC and Foxconn earnings due.

General trends and developments

- Cautious and mixed equity trading has again prevailed in Asia, with the culprit again being Nvidia’s management concerns.

- Following the resumption of trading in Nasdaq and S&P500 FUTs in a series of developing headlines surrounding Nvidia, according to the Wall Street Journal, Nvidia Board of Directors are preparing to oust its CEO and could convene with a [confirmed] date on Wednesday November 11th. This development came as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang faces allegations of a second affair with Nvidia VP Kimberly Powell, conflicting with Nvidia’s code of conduct, which states to “avoid situations where our actions create conflict,” including those involving “personal relationships.” A U.S. financial press reporter on X confirmed that Nvidia’s Board of Directors are considering the idea of naming an interim-CEO, with Semafor reporters on X indicating that CFO Colette Kress is favored among the Board of Directors.

- Recall, there has been prior speculation that Anthropic’s cornerstone investors might include Nvidia. Hence, with the renewed scrutiny of Nvidia’s developments, the recent news flow on Anthropic’s planned IPO has evaporated.

- Mainland Chinese chipmakers have outperformed [CSI Semiconductor Index rises by >3%], as Nvidia’s shares declined by >8% in afterhours trade. SMIC is, also, due to report quarterly earnings. Other focal points include talk of additional US chip-related restrictions on China. This could potentially make next week’s APEC meetings [Nov 18-19th] even more interesting.

- The PBOC added equity market support language to its Q3 Monetary Policy Implementation statement, while the CSRC [China Securities regulator] also continues to talk domestic market support.

- Japan’s top FX Diplomat Mimura appeared on the wires as USD/JPY has traded in the ¥160 area. Recent forex moves are too rapid, according to Mimura.

- BOJ dove Asada and 5-year JGB traders appears to be unscathed by the Oct PPI data which was driven by energy/Middle East factors. Asada noted Japan’s inflation is not demand driven but a result of cost-push factors.

- WTI Crude FUTs have declined by >1%. Reportedly US President Trump is open to VP Vance reopening talks with Iran and has empowered him to negotiate [WSJ].

- Amid the uncertainty surrounding the New Zealand 2026 elections, with final voting results (including the ~399K special votes) scheduled for November 27th. The New Zealand Debt Management (NZDM) agency issued NZ$350M vs. NZ$350M indicated in 2031 and 2037 bonds. The benchmark 10-year 2.75% April 2037 bond yielded an average yield at 4.7341% (vs. 4.7249% prior), and a bid-to-cover reading that doubled from prior at 7.46x (vs. 3.72x at prior issuance recorded on November 4th, 2026).

- US equity FUTs -0.9% to -0.4% during Asia trading.

Looking ahead (Asian-weighted focus, using EST/EDT time-zone)

- Sun November 8th: (Sun night, JP Oct FX Reserves - USD, AU Sept Building Approvals, CN Oct CPI & PPI, PH Q3 GDP, ID Oct Consumer Confidence, JP Sept Prelim Leading Index, TW Oct Trade Balance).

- Mon November 9th: DE Sept Trade Balance, EU ECOFIN & Eurogroup Meetings, MX Oct CPI & PPI, PH Oct FX Reserves - USD, CO Oct CPI, (Mon night, AU Nov Westpac Consumer Sentiment, JP Sept Household Spending, JP Oct Current Account & Adj Current Account, JP BoJ Oct 29-30th Summary of Opinions, AU Oct NAB Business Confidence, ID Sept Retail Sales, JP 30-Year JGB Auction, MY Sept Industrial Production).

- Tue November 10th: NL Oct CPI & Sept Manufacturing Production, FR Q3 Unemployment Rate, BR BCB Nov 3-4th Copom Meeting Minutes, US Oct CPI & Core CPI, CN Oct Trade Balance & Trade Balance - USD, US WASDE Report, US EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook, US 10-Year Note Auction, CA BOC Oct 28th Summary of Deliberations, NZ RBNZ Financial Stability Report, (Tue night, KR Oct Unemployment Rate, AU Q3 Home Loans, MY Sept Unemployment Rate).

- Wed November 11th: NL Sept Trade Balance, DE Oct CPI, US OPEC Monthly Report, MX Sept Industrial Production, RU Sept Trade Balance, (Wed night, JP Oct PPI, AU Nov MI Inflation Expectations, JP 5-Year JGB Auction, TH Oct Consumer Confidence).

- Thu November 12th: UK Q3 Preliminary GDP & Sept Industrial Production & Trade Balance, EU ECB Economic Bulletin & Economic Forecasts, IN Oct CPI, DE Sept Current Account, BR Oct CPI, RU Central Bank Reserves - USD, US Initial Jobless Claims, US 30-Year Bond Auction, (Thu night, KR Oct Export & Import Price Index, NZ Oct Business PMI, KR Sept M2 & M3 Money Supply, TH Oct Consumer Confidence).

- Fri November 13th: FR Oct CPI, ES Oct CPI, HK Q3 GDP, PL Q3 Preliminary GDP & Oct CPI, US IEA Monthly Report, CN Oct New Yuan Loans & Total Social Financing & M2 Money Stock, EU Q3 Prelim GDP & Employment Change & Sept Trade Balance, EU Leaders Summit, US Oct PPI & Core PPI, CA Sept Capacity Utilization Rate & Manufacturing Sales & Wholesale Sales, CO Sept Industrial Production & Retail Sales, RU Q3 Prelim GDP & Oct CPI.

- Sat November 14th: (Sat night, KR Oct Trade Balance).

Holidays in Asia this week

- Mon November 9th: Malaysia.

-Tue November 10th: India.

Headlines/economic data

Australia/New Zealand

- (AU) ASX 200 Index opens -0.3% at 9,123.

- (AU) Australia Nov Consumer Inflation Expectation: 5.3% v 5.3% prior.

- (AU) Australia sells A$100M v A$100M indicated in 1.25% Aug 2040 indexed bonds: Avg Yield: 2.9752% v 3.1641% prior; bid-to-cover: 3.50x v 4.47x prior.

- (AU) Australia corporate watchdog ASIC: Eases rules related to the promotion of upcoming IPOs.

- (NZ) New Zealand sells NZ$350M vs. NZ$350M indicated in 2031 and 2037 bonds; Bid-to-cover for the 2.75% Apr 2037 bonds at 7.46x v 3.72x prior (Nov 4th 2026).

- (NZ) New Zealand Oct Total Card Spending M/M: -1.2% v -0.6% prior.

- (NZ) New Zealand Sept Net Migration: 2.29K v 2.26K prior.

China/Hong Kong

- (CN) Shanghai Composite Index opens -0.2% at 3,673.

- (HK) Hang Seng Index opens -0.8% at 24,121.

- (US) Treasury Sec Bessent confronted Commerce Sec Lutnick over inaction on China chip security and delayed decision on adding Megaspeed to the entity list - Axios.

- (US) US State Department: Rubio spoke today with China's Wang Yi - Statement.

- (US) US Pres Trump reportedly authorized crackdown on 'chip smugglers' last week – Axios; US Commerce Sec Lutnick repeatedly attempted to stall Trump's Nvidia-China chip restrictions.

-(CN) China PBoC Q3 Monetary Policy Implementation Report: Reiterates to maintain its moderately loose monetary policy: External environment is more complex and volatile; Resilience of global economic growth is insufficient; Vows to safeguard stable stock market operations.

- (CN) China market-stabilization framework seen 'strengthening' - Chinese press.

- (CN) China PBOC sets the yuan mid-point at 6.7174 v 6.7191 prior.

- (CN) China PBOC Open Market Operation (OMO): Sells CNY384B in 1-day Overnight Reverse Repo; Net injects CNY197B v drains CNY3B prior.

- (CN) China to sell up to $2B USD-denominated sovereign bonds in Hong Kong - press.

- HSBC [0005.HK]: Explores bolstering Singapore to balance reliance on China [including Hong Kong], therefore giving more independence to its Singapore operations - US financial press.

Japan

- (JP) Nikkei 225 Index opens +0.4% at 61,475.

- (JP) Japan top fx diplomat Mimura: Get impression recent fx moves too fast; moves in the past few days are too rapid - Tokyo, Japan.

- (JP) Japan Oct PPI (domestic CGPI) M/M: 0.7% v 0.3%e; Y/Y: 7.1% v 6.5%e.

- (JP) BOJ New Board Member Asada (dovish dissenter): Must be mindful of expected impact of past rate hikes on economy. Need to watch downside economy risks from rate hikes - Asada speech prepared-text.

- (JP) Japan sells ¥2.50T VS. ¥2.50T indicated in 5-year JGB bondsS; AVG yield: 2.1860% V 2.379% prior; bid-to-cover: 3.67X V 3.56X prior.

- (JP) Japan releases weekly flows data [period ended Nov 6th]: Foreign buying of Japan equities: -¥105.2B v ¥1.13T prior; Japan buying of foreign bonds: -¥537.6B v ¥1.31T prior; Foreign buying of Japan bonds [long-term debt securities]: ¥1.37T v ¥1.48T prior.

- (JP) Japan savers go on record government bond 'spree' - FT [update].

- (JP) Japan Oct Tokyo Avg Office Vacancies: 1.75% v 1.9% prior [fresh multi-year low].

- (JP) Japanese Information Technology (chip-related) stocks decline after Nvidia CEO report: Advantest, Ibiden decline; Square ENIX Holdings Co. Ltd. (9684.JP) shares increase +13% after FY26 guidance hike.

Korea

- (KR) Kospi Index opens +0.2% at 5,386.

- (KR) South Korea: Oct Foreign Net Investment in Local Bonds: $5.61B v -$5.8B prior; cites data from the BOK - Press [update]; Net investment in domestic equities: -$19.3B v -$14.2B prior.

- (KR) South Korea President Lee: Samsung's KRW6T investment in HBM chip packaging fabrication in Asan, South Korea will be followed by around ~KRW40T won in advanced equipment investments.

- (KR) South Korea President Lee to attend ASEAN summit in the Philippines, China between November 16-19th.

- (KR) South Korea National Security Adviser Wi Sung-Lac: South Korea to seek support for resuming dialogue with North Korea. No additional North Korean movements around DMZ detected beyond preparedness for loudspeaker broadcasts. No issue on relocating US military base in Gwangju airport for building chip cluster - Briefing.

Other Asia

- ASEAN to begin a joint stockpile of petroleum products - Nikkei.

- (ID) Indonesia's rupiah falls to 18,195, record low versus the USD.

- (ID) Indonesia Central Bank Official: Rupiah depreciation in line with regional peers.

- (ID) Indonesian Police: Have enough initial evidence to pursue treason charges against four suspects in case of wiretapping of President.

- Manila Electric [MER.PH]: Weakness attributed to removal from MSCI index, trades -5.2%; PLDT declines by 1.7% on MSCI move.

North America

-(US) Nvidia [NVDA] *Reportedly Nvidia board prepares to oust CEO Huang; Board will meet as soon as later today to determine his future - WSJ.

-Nvidia [NVDA]: *Reportedly "some" Nvidia Directors favor CFO Colette Kress as Interim CEO - Semafor reporters on X.

-(US) NVDA (US) House China panel Chair Moolenaar (R-MI): Have given Nvidia CEO Huang until the end of business today to response to our inquiry; Will likely issue subpoenas if he does not respond - Fox Business interview.

- (US) Top Democrats target Trump Administration's Nvidia-China records - WSJ.

-(US) US Pres Trump reportedly authorized crackdown on 'chip smugglers' last week - Axios [US market close].

- (US) US Commerce Department finalizing AI remote access rule - The Information.

-(US) MBA Mortgage Applications w/e Nov 6th: +6.2% v -1.2% prior [US market close].

-(US) Current House Speaker Johnson (R-LA): Expects the House will pass bipartisan permitting bill on energy reviews [US market close].

-(US) TTN Reports Midterm results for Mississippi (Senate): Democrat Scott Colom projected to win over Republican Incumbent Hyde-Smith.

-Democrat Scott Colom has been projected the winner of Mississippi’s 2026 U.S. Senate race, narrowly defeating Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith after a prolonged ballot counting process. This marks the state's first black U.S. senator since the post-civil war reconstruction (1865-1877) in 1881. The last time Mississippi chose a new Democratic senator was 1947. This marks a historic shift in the senate as Democrats now hold 55 compared to the Republicans' 44 senate seats, with 1 vote left to call in Alaska, currently favoring Democratic representative Mary Peltola.

- (CO) Colombia Oct Consumer Confidence: 8.5 v 15.7 prior [US market close].

Europe

-(UR) Russia top negotiator Medinsky: Russia will not discuss details of talks with Ukraine; We have not received a peace proposal from the EU - comments after 2-days talks in Abu-Dhabi [EU market close].

-(DE) Germany Fin Min Klingbeil: Country's AAA sovereign rating not in danger [EU market close].

-(DE) German Chancellor Merz: Germany must do everything to maintain AAA credit rating [EU market close].

-(EU) ECB’s Makhlouf (Ireland): Price pressures largely confined to energy but upside risks remain [EU market close].

-(IE) Ireland Oct CPI M/M: 0.7% v 0.2% prior; Y/Y: 4.3% v 4.1% prior [EU market close].

Middle East

-(IR) Reportedly Trump is open to VP Vance reopening talks with Iran and has empowered him to negotiate; Officials say Vance is considering entering face to face talks with Iran Security Chief Rezaei - WSJ [US market close].

Levels as of 01:20 am EDT

Nikkei 225 -0.7%; ASX 200 -0.1%; Hang Seng -1.1%; Shanghai Composite -0.6%; Kospi -0.6%.

Equity S&P500 Futures -0.4%; Nasdaq100 -1.0%; DAX +0.9%; FTSE100 +0.7%.

EUR 1.1100-1.1066; JPY 159.84-159.48; AUD 0.6865-0.6832; NZD 0.5586-0.5551.

Gold -0.3% at $3.973/oz; BTC flat at $73,605; WTI Crude Oil -0.3% at $86.25/bbl; Copper -0.6% at $6.2278/lbs.