US stock indices closed mostly lower on Friday, with Nvidia shares falling 2 percent after the departure of chief executive Jensen Huang. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.10 percent to 52,347.55 points, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.40 percent to 7,561.67 points and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.91 percent to 25,136.27 points. The Russell 2000 closed 0.21 percent lower at 2,793.38 points.
Nvidia has now shed 11 percent over the week. Huang resigned as chief executive on Thursday amid reports of a two-year relationship with Alice Huang, a Chinese businesswoman suspected of working for Beijing intelligence. She had been head of Megaspeed, a company accused of evading export controls on advanced AI chips. Colette Kress was named interim chief executive on Thursday.
Producer prices and volatility
US producer prices rose 0.3 percent month-on-month in October, in line with the 0.3 percent analysts had expected for core PPI but below the 0.4 percent forecast for the headline. Year-on-year, the headline index climbed 6.5 percent. The VIX volatility gauge rose 3.53 percent to 19.36 points.
The main indices still recorded weekly gains, with the Nasdaq Composite up about 2 percent and the S&P 500 more than 2 percent higher.
Analysts weigh the outlook
Ross Mayfield of Baird said many difficulties had already been priced into share prices, though volatility was still expected. He said investors would keep rotating into non-AI sectors regardless of Nvidia developments.
Sean Peche of Ranmore Fund Management is bearish on AI-related companies. He said one must exit such waves before they crash, adding that AI is a very big wave.
Related: Nvidia's Huang steps down; Kospi leads Asia gains · Nvidia leadership turmoil weighs on Asian stocks
Data: S&P Dow Jones Indices · Nasdaq
