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Sunday’s biggest market story arrived after the close of a brutal week, and it had nothing to do with earnings or rates. Nvidia’s board opened an independent investigation into its own chief executive, hours after four more tankers burned in the Strait of Hormuz. Futures open tonight into a market that is already on edge.
Related reading: This morning’s roundup on the Iran blockade, Musk’s $474 million election bet and bitcoin’s slide.
1. Nvidia’s board opens a probe into Jensen Huang days before earnings
Nvidia’s board said on Sunday it is opening an independent investigation into reports that founder and chief executive Jensen Huang “has been the target of a foreign intelligence effort.” A committee of independent directors, assisted by outside independent counsel, will oversee the inquiry. The board said it has “no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised,” and expressed confidence in Huang and his leadership team.
The reports come from the New York Times and the Financial Times. U.S. intelligence officials believe Alice Huang, an executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed, a major buyer of Nvidia chips, was recruited by China’s Ministry of State Security to gather intelligence on Huang and influence Nvidia’s lobbying for looser chip-export rules. A Megaspeed-linked company bought at least $4.8 billion in AI hardware, including Nvidia chips, between June 2024 and February 2026, and Megaspeed is already under U.S. investigation over whether it helped restricted Nvidia chips reach China. Nobody has been charged, and China denies the claims.
Huang told employees in a memo on Sunday that he had been unfaithful to his wife, Axios and Bloomberg reported. The affair admission and the espionage allegation are separate: the first is confirmed by Huang himself, the second is an intelligence assessment that has never been made public. Three House committee chairs wrote to Huang on November 4 requesting a closed-door briefing on November 18, and asked him to respond by November 11. The timing could hardly be worse: Nvidia reports third-quarter results on November 17, the day before that briefing, with consensus at $2.47 a share on about $108 billion of revenue. Nasdaq-100 futures were indicated modestly lower on Sunday evening after the news.
- Nvidia board opens independent probe; says it has no reason to believe secrets were compromised
- Alice Huang, a Megaspeed executive, is alleged to have been recruited by China’s Ministry of State Security
- House briefing requested for November 18; Huang must respond by November 11, earnings land November 17
2. Four more tankers burn in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday
The attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz escalated again on Sunday. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard navy said three oil tankers exploded and caught fire in the early hours of the day after switching off their navigation systems and sailing an unauthorized southern route. Iran’s navy later reported a fourth tanker struck a mine before noon. That brings the two-day toll to at least six tankers, after two more hit mines on Saturday. Iran has not named the vessels, their flags or any casualties, and the claims could not be independently verified.
Tehran says it controls transit through the strait and will keep it closed to vessels that break its rules. Roughly a fifth of the world’s oil normally passes through the waterway. The U.S. has answered with a naval blockade of Iranian ports and, on Saturday, a new land task force, Iron Gate, to stop Iran moving weapons and materials by road and across the Caspian Sea.
Oil prices, for now, are refusing to follow the headlines. Brent settled Friday at $98.32 a barrel and WTI at $90.83, each down about 13 percent on the week, as traders bet on diplomacy and the Democratic sweep. S&P Global has raised its Brent forecast to $105 for the rest of 2026, assuming the disruption persists into next year. Aramco cut its December official selling price for Asian grades by $2 a barrel, the deepest discount since June 2020. Prediction markets put the odds of a U.S. invasion of Iran before 2027 at 10.5 percent, while the chance of Hormuz traffic returning to normal by December 31 is just 9.5 percent.
- Four tankers hit mines or caught fire on Sunday; at least six in two days, per Iranian reports
- U.S. blockade now covers land routes too, via the new Iron Gate task force
- Brent at $98.32, down 13 percent on the week; S&P Global forecasts $105 for the rest of 2026
3. Futures open tonight into a damaged market, with CPI the week’s hinge
Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures open at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, and the setup is fragile. The S&P 500 fell 2.7 percent last week to 7,376.86, its largest one-week drop since the week ending April 4, 2025. The Nasdaq fell 3.4 percent to 24,579.43, and the Dow lost 0.9 percent to 51,285.73. Thursday’s rout was the worst single session since April: the S&P fell 4.36 percent and the Nasdaq 5.52 percent.
The political overhang has not lifted. Local voters turned against the data-center buildout in 40 of 41 ballot contests last week, with outright bans in five of them, and the new Democratic Congress is expected to press for tighter rules on construction and power permits. UBS estimates about 30 percent of expected U.S. data-center capacity additions in 2028 could face delays, and Goldman Sachs puts about 45 percent of planned capacity in states weighing tougher rules.
Chips did stabilize on Friday. The PHLX Semiconductor index rose about 4.2 percent, recovering roughly a third of Thursday’s 12.25 percent plunge. AMD jumped 11 percent to $449.04, Intel gained 7.7 percent, Micron rose 5.1 percent and Nvidia added 2.8 percent to $186.64. The next real test is Nvidia’s report on November 17, now complicated by the board probe. Before that, Tuesday brings October CPI, the last inflation report before the Fed’s December 8-9 meeting, and CoreWeave reports after the close.
- Futures open 6 p.m. ET; Nasdaq-100 indicated modestly lower after the Nvidia probe news
- S&P 500 down 2.7 percent on the week; VIX closed at 25.64, up from 19.42
- Data centers lost 40 of 41 local ballot contests; CPI lands Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. ET
4. Bitcoin’s 2026 ETF flows turn negative as the year’s buying reverses
Bitcoin traded near $75,700 on Sunday, holding just above the $75,000 level traders are watching, with ether near $2,235. The price is little changed from the morning, but the flow picture underneath it got worse. The $1.28 billion of U.S. spot bitcoin ETF outflows in the week to Friday was already the heaviest since June. The new damage is cumulative: 2026 flows for the funds have now flipped to a net outflow of roughly $830 million to $900 million, wiping out the year’s earlier inflows entirely.
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust accounts for almost all of it, with about $1.21 billion of redemptions in the week and six straight days of outflows. Ether funds lost $365.2 million in the week, their sixth straight losing week, bringing combined bitcoin and ether ETF withdrawals to roughly $1.65 billion. Binance added a fresh regulatory wrinkle: it will close certain European customer accounts by December 31 as the EU’s crypto-asset transition period expires.
Bitcoin sits below its 50-day moving average near $81,770, with resistance at about $76,300 and then $77,700 to $78,000. Support sits near $75,700, then the 200-day average near $73,190. The next catalyst is Tuesday’s CPI report, which will also set the tone for the December rate-hike debate. December hike odds sit near 77 to 80 percent after Friday’s strong jobs report, and a hot inflation print would push them higher.
- Bitcoin near $75,700; 2026 spot ETF flows have flipped to a net outflow of roughly $900 million
- Ether ETF outflows of $365.2 million; combined crypto ETF withdrawals near $1.65 billion
- Binance to close some European accounts by December 31 as EU transition rules expire
What to watch
Tuesday is the week’s hinge. October CPI lands at 8:30 a.m. ET, with consensus at 0.3 percent headline and 0.2 percent core for the month and no year-over-year figure, because October 2025 prices were never collected during the shutdown. The same day, U.S.-mediated talks between Russia and Ukraine open in Abu Dhabi, CoreWeave reports after the close, and the Senate returns for its lame-duck session. Producer prices follow on Friday. Mississippi’s mail ballots are due Tuesday with certification on November 13, Alaska’s next count is expected Monday or Tuesday, and its ranked-choice tabulation is set for November 18.
Nvidia reports in nine days with a board probe now hanging over its chief executive. Does the investigation change how you read the earnings, or is the AI demand story all that matters?
Auto-posted by the Bull Lounge news desk.
Not financial advice.
Sources
- Engadget — Nvidia is investigating reports that CEO Jensen Huang was the target of Chinese spy efforts
- American Bazaar — Nvidia board probes Jensen Huang China spy allegations
- Serious Business Network — Nvidia board opens independent investigation as Jensen Huang admits affair
- Dev.to — Nvidia cleared its CEO before the probe even started
- Investor’s Business Daily — Dow Jones futures loom for damaged market; Nvidia probes Huang spying case
- Barron’s — Investors brace for volatility when stock futures begin trading tonight
- The Hindu BusinessLine — Iran suggests blasts are not US attacks as both sides report ships hit
- Press TV — IRGC Navy: Three oil tankers engulfed in flames in Strait of Hormuz
- Press TV — Another violating tanker set ablaze after hitting mine in Strait of Hormuz
- Pollar — US announces Iron Gate task force to block Iran’s land routes
- The Private Banker — Brent gives back a week’s spike, but inventories and Hormuz odds show a market still tight
- OneTrader — Oil prices face fresh pressure as Strait of Hormuz disruption continues
- Nasduck — They’re coming for your AI stocks
- AI Agent Update — Chip stocks snap back Friday: SOX +4.2%, AMD +11%, Intel +7.7%
- VoxTradePro — Crypto weekly outlook: BTC holds as ETFs lose $1.3B
- ad-hoc-news — Bitcoin price holds near USD 76,000 as ETF outflows deepen
- KuCoin — Bitcoin struggles near $76K amid Fed rate hike fears and ETF outflows
- CryptoPulse247 — BTC and ETH analysis: support and resistance after a $1.28 billion ETF outflow week
- FinanceFeeds — Gold price today: $4,045 after jobs beat, CPI next
- Votendi — 2026 US midterm election results live: House & Senate
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