S&P 500 Slips 0.36% as Nvidia Drops, Chip Rivals Jump on CEO News

The S&P 500 closed at 7,592.06, down 0.36% on the day, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped the same 0.36% to 52,297.09 and the Nasdaq Composite eased 0.39% to 25,366.09. The Russell 2000, a gauge of smaller companies, dropped a sharper 1.66% to 2,799.06. The 10-year Treasury yield, a benchmark for borrowing costs, rose 2.12% to 5.104%, and the VIX, a measure of expected market volatility, jumped 6.86% to 18.69, signaling investors grew more cautious into the close.

The biggest S&P 500 moves

Nvidia was the day's most consequential mover, falling 4.34% and shedding about $176.65 billion in market value; Benzinga and Bloomberg both pointed to reports of turmoil surrounding chief executive Jensen Huang, with Investor's Business Daily reporting he had resigned, as the driver behind the slide. Broadcom rose 5.54%, adding roughly $87.86 billion in value, and Advanced Micro Devices gained 5.86%, adding about $49.29 billion, as Bloomberg and CNBC described investors rotating toward Nvidia's rivals on expectations they could gain ground while Nvidia works through its leadership situation. Arista Networks also advanced more than 5%. Alphabet's two share classes each rose more than 1.6%, adding to the company's combined value.

On the downside, Global Payments dropped 12.01%; Benzinga reported that private equity firms had stepped back from acquisition talks with the company. Supermicro fell 11.30% after Benzinga cited a Semafor report describing federal investigations tied to the server maker and its dealings with Nvidia-linked partners. Keurig Dr Pepper, Moderna and Fidelity National Information Services also posted declines of more than 6%, though no source in our facts explained those moves.

Sectors

Only one of the eleven S&P 500 sectors finished higher. Energy led, climbing 1.50%, while utilities were roughly flat, down just 0.02%. Materials lagged furthest, down 1.30%, followed by communication services and industrials, both down close to 1% or more.

New highs and lows

Eighteen S&P 500 stocks touched a 52-week high Thursday, including Skyworks Solutions, Viatris and Intercontinental Exchange. Two stocks touched a 52-week low: Nvidia and Aptiv.

On the calendar

Several US data points were released Thursday. Weekly jobless claims rose to 200,000, above the 195,000 consensus and higher than the prior week's level, though the Associated Press noted claims remain low by historical standards and the four-week average held steady at 195.25K. Continuing jobless claims came in at 1,697,000, below both the 1,710,000 consensus and the prior reading. Existing home sales for October fell 5.5% from the prior month to an annualized pace of 3.75 million units, missing the 3.85 million consensus; the Wall Street Journal described the level as the weakest point for the housing market in roughly a decade and a half. Separately, the Energy Information Administration reported crude oil inventories rose by 4.66 million barrels and gasoline stocks increased by 1.8 million barrels, both well above consensus, while the October budget balance showed a deficit of $404 billion, wider than the $298.6 billion expected. Several Federal Reserve officials, including Hammack, Barr, Goolsbee, Daly and Williams, delivered speeches during the day.

Tomorrow, Friday, November 13, the Producer Price Index for October is due at 8:30 AM ET, with consensus calling for a 0.4% monthly rise. No S&P 500 companies in our facts are scheduled to report earnings before tomorrow's open.