Asian markets may come under pressure Monday as fresh uncertainty surrounding Nvidia Corp. adds to concerns over the technology sector following a bruising selloff. A futures contract on the Hyperliquid blockchain referencing Nvidia's share price fell as the company's board launched an investigation into whether Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang was targeted by a foreign espionage plot. The developments follow reports that Nvidia's leader was targeted by former Megaspeed International executive Alice Huang, who the US government suspects was recruited by a Chinese spy agency.
The threat to risk appetite comes after a rout in richly valued technology shares pushed Japanese and Taiwanese stocks into technical bear markets last week and sent a gauge of global equities to a six-month low. Investors are also assessing the US midterm results and their implications for fiscal policy, regulation and growth. Oil is also in focus after a Houthi attack damaged a landmark in Riyadh's financial district and caused minor damage to offices of state oil giant Saudi Aramco.
The dollar traded mixed early Monday after gaining 0.4% last week, its biggest weekly advance in a month, as the equity selloff boosted haven demand and strong jobs data revived expectations for another Federal Reserve rate hike. Traders are assigning an almost 80% probability of a hike by year-end, and attention now turns to US inflation data Tuesday for clues on the rate outlook.
In Asia, Chinese consumer and producer price data Monday will offer the next read on the health of the world's second-largest economy. Bitcoin advanced early Monday, trading at just below $75,000. Barclays strategists led by Themistoklis Fiotakis said solid growth momentum makes them inclined to buy any dip in the dollar.
Source: Bloomberg Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing