Thursday, November 12, 2026 · 5:00 PM ET · Shahryar Rahmani, MTC Desk
Jensen Huang resigns as Nvidia CEO, and the market shakes, then mostly shrugs. Nvidia’s 8-K says Huang left as CEO and board member, effective immediately, with CFO Colette Kress as interim CEO. The stock fell nearly 14% at the open and closed −4.34% at $166.19.
Read the episode
Hey, I’m Shah, your host, and this is MTC Radio.
Okay, so the biggest name in the market lost its CEO this morning, and by the close the market had pretty much shrugged it off. Nvidia said Jensen Huang resigned as CEO and from the board, effective immediately. The CFO, Colette Kress, is the interim CEO while the board looks for a permanent one. The company didn’t give a reason. Kiplinger reported it came after news of a second relationship, this time with someone who reported to him.
Now, Nvidia dropped about fourteen percent right at the open, to around a hundred and forty nine dollars. And then buyers stepped in pretty much right away. It closed down about four percent, around a hundred and sixty six. So it took back more than two thirds of that drop in one day. Earnings are next Tuesday after the close, so there’s a lot more to come on this one.
And the interesting part was inside the chip group. AMD was up almost six percent after an upgrade from William Blair, and Broadcom up about five and a half. Basically the idea is if Nvidia is distracted, the competitors pick up the business. On the other side, CoreWeave was down about seven percent, because Nvidia owns a big piece of it, and Micron was down a bit too.
For the indexes, the S&P 500 was down almost one percent at the open, came all the way back, and then slipped again in the afternoon to finish down about a third of a percent. The Nasdaq and the Dow, about the same. Small caps had the worst day, the Russell 2000 down more than one and a half percent.
The afternoon fade was mostly about yields. The ten-year pushed up to about five point one percent, and one of the Fed presidents, Mary Daly, said she thinks more tightening will be needed. On top of that, oil jumped almost three percent after President Trump said he’s not interested in a deal with Iran anymore. So energy was the only sector green today, and gold dropped about three percent.
On the data side, jobless claims came in at two hundred thousand, a little more than expected, and existing home sales dropped to the slowest pace since twenty ten.
After the bell, Cisco had a massive quarter. Revenue up twenty four percent, and they raised the outlook for the year. The stock was up close to six percent at about four thirty. Applied Materials beat on revenue and earnings, and around the same time the stock was basically flat, slightly lower.
Now, this morning on Spy, we had the seven fifty two to seven fifty five zone below. The Nvidia news opened us right inside it, and the low of the day was in the first minute. Buyers stepped in, higher lows, and we ran all the way up to our upper zone at seven fifty nine and a half to seven sixty two and a half. It poked just above it, held there until around one forty five, and then it slipped out and closed around seven fifty seven. Q Q Q, same thing. It opened right in the six seventy nine to six eighty one zone, bounced hard to about six ninety four and a half, and then faded back under six ninety. So the zones were set before the news, and the news pushed price right into them.
For tomorrow on Spy, I’m watching seven sixty two and a half to seven sixty three up top, that’s today’s high, and seven fifty three and a half to seven fifty five below. On Q Q Q, six ninety four and a half to six ninety five and a half above, and six seventy nine and a half to six eighty one below. We’ll see if we reject these or break them. We get the producer price numbers at eight thirty, so expect some movement early.
So yeah, that’s what I’m watching. If you want to trade it with us, we’re live Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday in the community. See you there.
The S&P 500 was down nearly 1% early, erased the loss, then closed −0.35% at 7,592.40 (AP). The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.39%, the Dow 0.36% and the Russell 2000 a harder 1.66%.
What kept stocks red after the Nvidia bounce: the 10-year Treasury yield pushed to about 5.1% as traders priced more Fed tightening (Yahoo Finance), and oil jumped after President Trump said he is no longer interested in a deal with Iran (AP). Energy was the only sector that rose.
The Closing Bell
Index levels are from the Associated Press, Yahoo Finance and Kiplinger; ETF closes are official 4:00 PM ET prints from Nasdaq.com, checked against Finviz. For the week so far the S&P 500 is still up 2.9% (AP).
| Index | Close | Change | ETF |
|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 | 7,592.40 | −0.35% (−27 points) | SPY $757.25 (−0.34%) |
| Nasdaq Composite | 25,366.09 | −0.39% (−100 points) | QQQ $688.17 (−0.32%) |
| Nasdaq 100 | 28,289.19 (Nasdaq.com) | −0.30% | |
| Dow Jones | 52,297.09 | −0.36% (−189 points) | DIA $522.57 (−0.36%) |
| Russell 2000 | 2,799.06 | −1.66% (−47 points) | IWM $278.45 (−1.64%) |
Jensen Huang Resigns: What Drove the Day
Nvidia. Huang resigned as President, CEO and board member; Kress keeps the CFO job while the board searches for a permanent CEO (8-K and company release). The release gives no reason. Kiplinger reports it followed revelations of a second relationship, this time with a direct report. The stock hit $148.80 in the first minute (Yahoo Finance), then cut more than two-thirds of the loss. Earnings come after the close next Tuesday, November 17 (Kiplinger). Our premarket brief this morning laid out the Zones we used to read this open.
A split inside chips. AMD rose 5.86% after William Blair upgraded it to Outperform, saying the “risk/reward has shifted in AMD’s favor,” and Broadcom gained 5.54% on the view that Nvidia’s loss is their gain (Kiplinger). CoreWeave, in which Nvidia holds a major stake, fell 6.86%, and Micron, which sells memory to Nvidia, slipped 1.59% (Kiplinger). Semiconductors (SMH) ended −1.03%.
Other movers. Nebius fell 16.84% after its third-quarter report, a day after jumping 15.4%. Alibaba lost 7.07% after this morning’s worries about tighter US chip-export rules tied to the Nvidia allegations, and Strategy fell 6.49% after MSCI said it will drop the stock from its global indexes. HubSpot rose 6.35% on a leadership overhaul (Motley Fool). Our guide to bull vs bear markets explains why a day like this, with the index near flat and small caps down, is worth reading under the surface.
Sectors: Only Energy Rises
Energy was the only gainer at +1.50%, riding oil. Utilities were flat. Technology fell 0.36%, Consumer Staples 0.42%, Consumer Discretionary 0.45%, Real Estate 0.50%, Health Care 0.59%, Financials 0.73%, Industrials 0.91% and Communication Services 0.94%. Materials fell the most, −1.30%; gold fell about 3%.
Rates, Commodities and Crypto
| Asset | Level | One line |
|---|---|---|
| 10-year Treasury yield | about 5.10% (about +0.10) | Yahoo Finance, about 3 PM ET; TLT −1.48% (Nasdaq.com) |
| WTI crude (Dec) | about $88.96 (about +2.8%) | Yahoo Finance; jumped after Trump’s Iran comments (AP) |
| Gold | about $3,877 (about −3.1%) | Yahoo Finance; GLD −2.82% (Nasdaq.com) |
| Bitcoin | about $71,500 (about −3.8%) | Yahoo Finance |
| VIX | 18.69 (+6.9%) | Yahoo Finance |
| US dollar (UUP) | +0.22% | A little firmer (Nasdaq.com) |
San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said, “My bias is that further tightening will be needed” (Yahoo Finance, per Dow Jones). After Tuesday’s hot CPI, traders are weighing a December rate increase.
Economic Data Today
| Time (ET) | Release | Consensus | Prior | Actual |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8:30 AM | Initial Jobless Claims (week to Nov 7) | 195K | 191K (revised) | 200K |
| 8:30 AM | Continuing Claims (week to Oct 31) | — | — | 1.697M |
| 10:00 AM | Existing Home Sales (Oct) | 3.85M (Finwire) | — | 3.75M |
Jobless claims came in at 200,000, a bit above the 195,000 forecast (DOL via Reuters). Existing home sales fell 5.5% to a 3.75 million pace, the lowest since August 2010 (NAR via Kiplinger). Both point to a slower economy, but bond yields still rose.
After the Bell: Cisco and Applied Materials
Cisco reported record revenue of $18.5 billion, up 24%, with Networking up 43%. Adjusted EPS was $1.40, up 40%, and both landed above the high end of its own guidance. It raised its fiscal 2027 guide to $74.8–$75.8 billion in revenue and $5.47–$5.53 in adjusted EPS, and now expects about $9 billion of AI infrastructure revenue from hyperscalers (company release). The stock traded about 5.8% higher at about 4:32 PM ET (Nasdaq.com; Finviz).
Applied Materials reported record revenue of $10.41 billion, up 53%, and adjusted EPS of $4.16, against estimates of about $10.30 billion and $4.06 (Crypto Briefing; 24/7 Wall St). It guided the next quarter to $11.1 billion, plus or minus $0.5 billion, and adjusted EPS of $4.35, plus or minus $0.20 (company release, 8-K). After falling 3.58% in the session, the stock was about 0.4% lower at about 4:32 PM ET (Nasdaq.com; Finviz).
Setup Review and What to Watch Next
How our morning Zones did. The Nvidia headline opened SPY right inside our Lower Zone (752–755), and the low of the day, 753.67, came in the first minute. Buyers stepped in at once: back above 755 within minutes and higher lows all morning. SPY ran into the Upper Zone (759.5–762.5), poked to 763.03 at 11:23 AM, held there until about 1:45 PM, then slipped out and closed at 757.25. QQQ did the same: low 679.84 at 9:31 AM inside its Lower Zone (679–681), a high of 694.56 above its Upper Zone (690–692), and a close at 688.17. The plan was made before the news, and the news pushed price straight into it.
Friday’s Zones to watch for a reaction: SPY 762.5–763 (today’s high) and 753.5–755 (today’s opening low), and QQQ 694.5–695.5 and 679.5–681. Our guide to using premarket data to prepare for the day shows how we build these Zones, and Wednesday’s close recap covers the CoreWeave rally that came before today.
Calendar: NY Fed President John Williams speaks tonight at 6:30 PM ET; October PPI is Friday at 8:30 AM ET; Nvidia reports after the close Tuesday. Risks: the 10-year holding above 5%, oil headlines on Iran, and more news on Nvidia’s leadership before its report.
FAQ
Nvidia’s 8-K and release say Jensen Huang resigned as President, CEO and board member on November 12, 2026, effective immediately, without giving a reason. Kiplinger reports the move followed revelations of a second relationship, this time with a direct report. CFO Colette Kress is interim CEO while the board searches for a permanent one.
Nvidia fell nearly 14% at the open on November 12, 2026, to a low of $148.80, then recovered much of the loss and closed down 4.34% at $166.19 (Nasdaq.com; Kiplinger). Rival chipmakers AMD (+5.9%) and Broadcom (+5.5%) rose, while CoreWeave, in which Nvidia holds a stake, fell 6.9%.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.35% to 7,592.40 after being down nearly 1% at the open. Nvidia’s CEO resignation hit chip stocks early, and later in the day the 10-year Treasury yield rose to about 5.1% and oil jumped after President Trump said he is no longer interested in a deal with Iran (AP; Yahoo Finance). Small caps fell the most: the Russell 2000 lost 1.66%.
Cisco reported record first-quarter revenue of $18.5 billion, up 24%, adjusted EPS of $1.40 and raised its fiscal 2027 revenue guide to $74.8 to $75.8 billion; it traded about 5.8% higher after hours at about 4:32 PM ET. Applied Materials reported record revenue of $10.41 billion and adjusted EPS of $4.16, both above estimates, and traded about 0.4% lower after hours.
Sources: NVIDIA 8-K and release (SEC EDGAR); Associated Press; Kiplinger; Yahoo Finance; Motley Fool; Nasdaq.com official closes and 1-minute prices; Finviz; Cisco Q1 FY2027 release (PR Newswire); Applied Materials Q4 FY2026 release (8-K, SEC EDGAR); Crypto Briefing and 24/7 Wall St (estimates); DOL via Reuters/Investing.com and NAR (data). After-hours and commodity levels are approximate and carry their time. Featured image: AI-edited from a photo of NVIDIA H100 GPUs by Geekerwan (CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons).
Education only. Not financial advice.
