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| Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang arrives at the White House in November 2025. Daniel Torok/The White House; public domain. |
Nvidia faces a shareholder lawsuit over disclosures concerning chief executive Jensen Huang’s alleged relationship with a businesswoman linked in media reports to Chinese intelligence, after its shares fell during a broad recovery on Wall Street.
The company’s difficulties featured in Arise News’ international business update on Tuesday, during which business correspondent Rotus Oddiri reviewed the contrasting fortunes of Nvidia and other technology stocks, alongside falling oil prices and China’s expanding exports.
According to Reuters’ account of the lawsuit, shareholders accused Nvidia and Huang of withholding information about his alleged relationship with Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed. The two are not related.
The complaint, filed in a federal court in San Jose, California, on Monday, alleges that the undisclosed circumstances created national security concerns that threatened Nvidia’s reputation and business prospects. The investors seek unspecified damages.
Nvidia shares closed approximately 4.3 per cent lower on Monday, reducing its market value by about $190 billion. The lawsuit followed the close of trading.
The legal action followed an 8 November announcement by Nvidia’s board that it would investigate reporting suggesting Huang had been the target of a foreign intelligence operation.
Independent directors will oversee that inquiry with assistance from outside legal counsel. The board said Huang supported the review and had committed to cooperating.
It also expressed confidence in Huang and his management team, while stating that it had no reason to believe either Nvidia’s confidential information or US national security had been compromised. The inquiry would nevertheless examine the available information, the company said.
Huang has acknowledged infidelity in a message to employees, although he did not identify the person involved. Arise News reported that he apologised to his family and supported the board’s investigation.
President Donald Trump subsequently defended the executive. Speaking to reporters on Monday, Trump said Huang had told him he did not know the woman was allegedly involved in espionage, and that he believed that explanation.
Trump also said the FBI was examining the matter, without clearly defining the scope of its work.
Separately, NBC News reported, citing a person familiar with the investigation, that the US Justice Department was examining whether Megaspeed helped divert restricted Nvidia chips to China. That report described an investigation into suspected conduct, rather than an established finding against the company or the individuals involved.
China has rejected the espionage allegations. At a foreign ministry briefing on Monday, spokesman Guo Jiakun described the claims as unsubstantiated and an attempt to discredit Beijing.
Elsewhere in financial markets, investors returned to equities as cheaper oil eased concerns about inflation and the economic consequences of the Iran war.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 2.15 per cent on Monday, while the S&P 500 advanced 2.35 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite rose 2.74 per cent. Semiconductor stocks also rallied, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index gaining approximately 6.9 per cent.
The recovery extended into Asian trading on Tuesday. South Korea’s Kospi opened 4.55 per cent higher, while Japanese and Taiwanese shares also strengthened during the morning session. Oddiri identified renewed buying of technology stocks as a central feature of the rebound.
Oil moved in the opposite direction. Brent crude traded around $91 a barrel during the period covered by the Arise News broadcast, as investors assessed prospects for negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
A Reuters market report put Brent at $91.56 in early Tuesday trading, approximately one per cent below its previous settlement. Trump’s indication that he intended to hold off on fresh attacks against Iran helped support expectations of diplomatic progress.
Oddiri nevertheless noted Iran’s insistence on concrete measures from the United States rather than written assurances, indicating that expectations of an agreement remained subject to developments in the negotiations.
China’s latest trade figures provided another focus for investors. October exports increased by 35.2 per cent compared with a year earlier, while imports rose 41.6 per cent.
The monthly trade surplus narrowed to $105.3 billion from $133.5 billion in September. Across January to October, however, the surplus reached $1.04 trillion, taking China beyond the trillion-dollar threshold for a second consecutive year.
Discussing those figures, Oddiri argued that demand for artificial intelligence equipment continued to support Chinese exports, while weak domestic demand left the economy dependent on overseas buyers.
Investors were also awaiting US inflation figures due later on Tuesday, with the release expected to influence assessments of the Federal Reserve’s next interest-rate decision.