Asian chip stocks rise after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang steps down

Asian chip stocks rose Friday despite Nvidia's selloff after founder Jensen Huang resigned as CEO, with Samsung and SK Hynix initially gaining 3.25% and 4.55% before paring gains. Nvidia closed 4.34% lower at $166.19 on Thursday following its first leadership transition in 33 years. Samsung and SK Hynix, key suppliers of high-bandwidth memory for AI processors, saw early gains shrink to 1.92% and 1.66% by 11:20 Korean time, with KOSPI up 1.48% at 5,421.99. Nvidia appointed CFO Colette Kress as interim CEO, stating customer commitments and product plans should continue uninterrupted. Analysts noted demand for AI memory depends on long qualification cycles, not a single executive. Nvidia's November 17 earnings report will be a key test, with investors scrutinizing demand and guidance. Foxconn forecast strong AI server growth, while competitors AMD and Broadcom rose 5.86% and 5.54%. Analysts suggested supply chain shifts could benefit companies serving multiple chip platforms, though some warned of negative reactions as implications become clearer.