A futures contract tracking Nvidia shares, traded on Hyperliquid, fell after the chipmaker’s board launched an investigation into whether chief executive Jensen Huang was targeted by a foreign espionage plot. Bitcoin rose to just below US$75,000 at the start of Monday trading, while the US dollar was mixed against major currencies.
Espionage probe rattles tech trade
Nick Twidale, chief market analyst at AT Global Markets, said the affair would pressure Asian markets at the start of the week. It creates enormous uncertainty about Nvidia, which he called one of the largest, if not the largest, AI companies in the world.
The episode landed after a tough week for equities. A global stock indicator hit a six-month low last week after a tech selloff pushed Japan and Taiwan markets into technical bear markets.
Dollar and currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.4 percent, its largest weekly gain in a month. The euro traded at $1.1142, while the yen stood at 158.36 per dollar. Offshore yuan was at 6.6707 per dollar. Barclays strategists led by Themistoklis Fiotakis said history is full of reckless-looking bets, and that solid growth and a likely extension of the capex cycle led them to consider buying the dollar on any dip.
In Australia, the 10-year bond yield rose 3 basis points to 5.02 percent. The Australian dollar traded at $0.6868 and the New Zealand dollar at $0.5568, up 0.4 percent.
Inflation data and rate bets
China’s CPI and PPI figures were due Monday, and Bloomberg Economics said inflation may have accelerated in October. US inflation data is due Tuesday. Market operators put the probability of a Federal Reserve rate hike by year-end at almost 80 percent.
Our own market data showed the Nasdaq Composite at 24,579.43 points at the 6 November close, up 1.09 percent. Bitcoin was at $75,071 in the same reading, down 0.87 percent.
