- One stock is setting the tone: the Nasdaq proxy is down about 0.8% and the chip ETF about 2.4%, while the Dow proxy and small caps are flat.
- Nvidia is down about 6.8% as its board weighs replacing its CEO, and CoreWeave has given back about 6% of Wednesday's surge.
- Weekly jobless claims come at 8:30 AM ET and existing home sales at 10:00 AM ET, with Cisco and Applied Materials reporting after the close.
Key numbers
Get the Desk's features and the market mood in your inbox. Free.
One feature a day, every day. Free. Unsubscribe anytime.
Thursday, November 12 opens with one question: does Nvidia keep its CEO? Wires report its board is meeting on Jensen Huang's future after reports of affairs, one with a woman reportedly suspected of spying for China. No decision has been announced.
Setup into the open
Wednesday closed Choppy, with the Nasdaq proxy up about 2.3% on a chip rally. As of about 6:18 AM ET, the S&P proxy is −0.39%, the Nasdaq proxy −0.77%, small caps −0.02% and the Dow proxy +0.05%. Nvidia is −6.83% and the chip ETF −2.36%, while AMD is +3.56%. Long Treasuries are +0.10%, the vol proxy +1.97%, crude −0.35%, gold −0.91% and the dollar +0.51%. Bitcoin is near $73,300, about −0.5% since midnight.
What to watch
After Wednesday's close, Corteva is down about 8.9% premarket against a calendar estimate of $0.09 a share and an implied move of about 7.2%, and Franco-Nevada is up about 0.5% against $1.77. CoreWeave is down about 6.2% after Wednesday's jump of about 24.9%.
This morning, Brookfield reports with an estimate of $0.72 a share and an implied move of about 4.3%, and Nebius with a −$0.61 loss and about 11.1%. Existing home sales follow at 10:00 AM ET (prior 4.00 million). After the close, Cisco reports with $1.33 and about 7.5%, and Applied Materials with $4.06 and about 6.2%. Producer prices come Friday at 8:30 AM ET.
What X is saying
Posts say some directors have floated the finance chief, Colette Kress, as interim CEO and that Nvidia reports earnings next Tuesday. Others argue there is no obvious successor. Wires report Beijing warned Washington not to use the scandal to justify new chip curbs, and Chinese AI stocks fell overnight.
Insight
This is a single-stock shock big enough to move the index. Nvidia's drop accounts for much of the Nasdaq proxy's slide, while the Dow proxy and small caps barely move, so it isn't a broad selloff yet. AMD rising suggests some traders are rotating within chips rather than leaving them. A board decision, either way, would likely matter more today than jobless claims.
Desk stance
The mood stays Choppy from Wednesday's close: the damage is concentrated in one name. It would slip to Spooked at the 9:45 AM ET refresh if the S&P proxy falls below about −1% with the vol proxy up more than 5%, and steady if the equal-weight S&P holds green.
- HeatingNvidia's CEO shake-upNvidia is down about 6.8% premarket as wires report its board is meeting on Huang's future, far worse than the chip ETF's about −2.4%.
- SteadyThe AI spending boomCoreWeave has given back about 6.2% of Wednesday's surge premarket, and the chip ETF is down about 2.4%, though AMD is up about 3.6%.
SOURCES ›
- Economic calendar 2026-11-12: Weekly Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET (no prior or forecast listed); Existing Home Sales (Oct) 10:00 AM ET, prior 4.00M; Monthly Treasury Balance (Oct) 2:00 PM ET, prior −$27B; NY Fed's Williams speaks 6:30 PM ET
- Economic calendar 2026-11-13: PPI (Oct) 8:30 AM ET, prior +1.3%; core PPI m/m prior +0.7%
- Earnings premarket 2026-11-12: BN (EPS est 0.72, implied ~4.3%), NBIS (−0.61, ~11.1%)
- Earnings afterhours 2026-11-12: CSCO (EPS est 1.33, implied ~7.5%), AMAT (4.06, ~6.2%)
- Earnings afterhours 2026-11-11: CTVA (EPS est 0.09, implied ~7.2%), FNV (1.77, ~4.7%)
- Premarket quotes as of about 6:18 AM ET vs Nov 11 close: SPY 756.82 (−0.39%, 6:15 AM ET), QQQ 685.08 (−0.77%), IWM 283.03 (−0.02%), DIA 524.70 (+0.05%), SMH 495.00 (−2.36%), TLT 81.00 (+0.10%, 6:02 AM ET), VXX 18.10 (+1.97%), UUP 29.50 (+0.51%, 2:44 AM ET), USO 140.98 (−0.35%), GLD 361.84 (−0.91%), NVDA 161.86 (−6.83%, 6:19 AM ET), AMD 572.59 (+3.56%), CRWV 57.00 (−6.20%), CTVA 11.06 (−8.90%, 6:00 AM ET), FNV 250.10 (+0.54%, 3:38 AM ET)
- BTC mark about $73,294 at 6:19 AM ET (−0.49% vs ET midnight open 73,655)
- Wednesday Nov 11 closing mood Choppy and closes (Nasdaq proxy +2.31%, CoreWeave +24.85%) from recap-2026-11-11 and data/market/hero.json
- @business — “Nvidia’s board of directors is meeting to discuss the fate of CEO Jensen Huang”
- @Reuters — “Asian stocks tumble, Nvidia stings as board to decide CEO's fate”
- @business — “Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who is at risk of being ousted following reports of multiple extramarital affairs, including with a woman reportedly suspected of spying for China.”
- @Liathetrader — “Some directors have floated CFO Colette Kress as interim CEO. No obvious successor, and earnings are next Tuesday.”
- @plantmath1 — “There is no immediate successor, the BoD is searching externally. $NVDA is too complex, this is not a Starbucks situation. The stock in limbo for a year if true.”
- @FT — “China warns US not to use Nvidia scandal as pretext for tech curbs”
- @business — “Chinese AI stocks tumbled on concerns that cloud operators’ access to advanced chips may face tighter scrutiny amid the controversy surrounding Nvidia”
Get tomorrow's feature in your inbox.
One feature a day, every day. Free. Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy