Global stock markets mostly fell on Friday as investors assessed the potential impact of Jensen Huang’s departure from Nvidia on the artificial intelligence industry, while rising oil prices added to concerns over the prolonged conflict involving Iran.

European shares opened lower, with London’s FTSE 100 down 0.2% and benchmark indices in Paris and Frankfurt each losing 0.3%. US stock futures also edged down, including contracts linked to the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100.

The selling followed losses on Wall Street on Thursday. Nvidia shares fell 4.3%, while the S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones Industrial Average each declined by around 0.4%. The Dow closed at 52,297.09. Some rival chipmakers moved higher, with Advanced Micro Devices gaining 5.9%.

Nvidia announced that Huang had stepped down immediately as president, chief executive and board member. The company’s long-serving chief financial officer, Colette Kress, took over as interim chief executive.

Huang co-founded Nvidia and became one of the most influential figures in the development of AI technology. His departure has raised questions about the company’s future direction and the wider industry, particularly given Nvidia’s central role in supplying chips and financing AI infrastructure.

The announcement followed reports alleging two affairs, including one involving a woman suspected of spying for China. The reports have raised national security concerns, although the allegations have not been independently established.

Ben Barringer, head of technology research at Quilter Cheviot, said he did not expect an immediate effect on Nvidia if its order book remained strong and it continued meeting performance targets.

However, he warned that Huang’s absence could weaken Nvidia’s influence over longer-term debates about AI regulation and investment, potentially affecting the wider technology sector.

Asian markets were mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.5% to close at 61,142.35, while South Korea’s Kospi fell 1% to 5,290.53. Shanghai’s Composite declined 0.6% to 3,634.35, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down more than 1.5% at 23,637.60.

Taiwan’s Taiex rose 1.35% to 43,675.12, supported by a 0.43% gain in TSMC. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.7% to 9,082.20. Chip stocks were mixed, with Tokyo Electron rising 1.7%, while Kioxia fell 2.2%. Samsung Electronics lost 1% and SK Hynix declined 3.2%.

Oil prices advanced after US President Donald Trump said Washington did not need an agreement with Iran, despite the continuing conflict in the Middle East.

At around 07:00 GMT, Brent crude rose 0.7% to $96.48 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate gained 0.2% to $88.91. Brent had traded near $72 before the war began in late February.

Gold futures for December delivery edged up to $3,899 an ounce. In currency markets, the euro strengthened to $1.1061, while sterling slipped to $1.3229. The dollar eased to 159.79 yen.

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang is facing renewed scrutiny following reports of a second alleged extramarital relationship, as the company’s board prepares to consider allegations involving the technology executive and a woman linked to a suspected Chinese intelligence operation.

The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported on Wednesday that Nvidia’s board was preparing to meet to discuss the situation. The report did not establish that the board had decided to remove Huang from his position.

The New York Times separately reported that video evidence showed the 63-year-old executive behaving affectionately with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia’s 48-year-old vice president of healthcare. The newspaper said bystanders had reportedly seen the pair being affectionate at a hotel during a conference in San Jose, California.

Powell has played a prominent role in Nvidia’s efforts to expand the use of its chip technology in higher education and healthcare. The reports have not established whether the alleged relationship has affected her position at the company.

The latest claims follow Huang’s admission that he had a relationship with Alice Huang, a senior executive at Singapore-based data centre company Megaspeed.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Jensen Huang and Alice Huang had been photographed together in Taipei in 2024 and 2025. US intelligence officials reportedly circulated a memo last spring alleging that Alice Huang was an operative for China’s Ministry of State Security. The allegation has not been independently established.

In a message to Nvidia employees on Sunday, the chief executive acknowledged the relationship, writing: “I was unfaithful to my wife.”

On the same day, Nvidia’s board announced that it had launched an independent investigation following reports that its founder and chief executive had been the target of a foreign intelligence effort.

“I support the investigation and will cooperate fully. I love our country and our company,” Huang said in his statement.

Members of Congress have also reportedly asked Huang to provide a closed-door briefing about his interactions with Alice Huang, according to The New York Times.

Political and business scrutiny

The controversy comes as Nvidia remains at the centre of the global artificial intelligence boom, which has driven its shares to record levels and made Huang one of the technology industry’s most influential executives.

He has appeared alongside US President Donald Trump at several White House events and received the National Medal of Science from the president last month.

Huang has also joined other prominent technology leaders, including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, in supporting industry-led efforts to regulate artificial intelligence.

The debate over AI oversight has intensified as concerns grow about the technology’s potential risks. Trump has opposed calls for greater government intervention and dismissed warnings that artificial intelligence could pose an existential threat.

Artificial intelligence company Anthropic plans to raise as much as $64 billion (€57.1 billion) through its upcoming initial public offering, in a stock market debut that could value the maker of Claude AI models at up to $1.4 trillion (€1.25 trillion).

In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, the company said it intends to offer 825 million shares at a price range of $70 to $78 each. Its shares will trade under the ticker symbol ANT.

Seven technology companies, including Google, Nvidia, AMD and Microsoft, have also agreed to purchase $26 billion (€23.2 billion) in non-voting shares at the IPO price through a separate private placement. The companies are either investors in Anthropic or major providers of its computing infrastructure.

The offering is smaller than earlier expectations that Anthropic could raise up to $100 billion (€89.2 billion), potentially making it the largest IPO on record. Even at the top of its proposed price range, the sale would fall below the $86 billion (€76.7 billion) raised by Elon Musk’s SpaceX in June at a valuation of $1.77 trillion (€1.58 trillion).

Anthropic has been preparing to list during the week of November 16, with reports indicating that trading could begin on November 19.

The IPO is being closely watched by investors as a test of confidence in the artificial intelligence industry and the enormous spending required to build its computing infrastructure.

Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth Management, told AFP that the listing reflected continuing concerns about the cost of AI development and how companies would finance their expansion. He said investors had shown strong interest in major private technology companies, including SpaceX and Anthropic, with OpenAI potentially following next year.

Revenue growth and financial risks

Anthropic’s revenue reached $17 billion (€15.2 billion) in the third quarter, compared with $1.4 billion (€1.25 billion) a year earlier. Its annualised revenue run rate stood at approximately $81 billion (€72.3 billion) on October 31, up $10 billion (€8.9 billion) from the end of September.

The company has also committed hundreds of billions of dollars to securing computing capacity. Its filing warned that these financial obligations could remain substantial even if demand for its AI services falls below expectations.

The document devotes considerable attention to potential risks from advanced artificial intelligence, including the possibility of catastrophic or existential harm if the technology is not developed and deployed responsibly.

Anthropic also warned that its public positions on AI safety and regulation could expose it to political opposition or regulatory action.

The company has faced tensions with the Trump administration after refusing to remove restrictions on military uses of its technology. The Pentagon subsequently designated Anthropic a national security risk.

Under the governance arrangements outlined in the filing, the seven co-founders, led by chief executive Dario Amodei and president Daniela Amodei, will retain just over half of shareholder voting rights after the listing. This structure will allow the founders to maintain control even as outside investors acquire shares.