Market-moving news for Thursday, November 12, 2026

What happened

On Thursday, Nov. 12, a wave of Wall Street firms moved on Nvidia the morning after the Wall Street Journal reported the board is preparing to oust CEO Jensen Huang. William Blair downgraded Nvidia to Market Perform from Outperform, warning Huang's likely departure and heightened scrutiny are 'a significant overhang' on the shares. Oppenheimer cut its rating to Perform from Outperform and removed its price target altogether. Bernstein downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform and halved its target to $200 from $400, citing leadership uncertainty rather than chip demand, and kept its earnings forecasts unchanged. Stifel cut its target to $205 from $315 while keeping a Buy, saying it now considers a leadership transition its base case and valuing the stock at 13 times fiscal 2028 EPS of $15.65, down from a 20-times multiple. Citi cut its target a second time this week, to $225 from $285, while keeping a Buy. Dan Ives estimated Nvidia is worth $225 without Huang versus $300 with him as CEO, and said he expects Huang to be removed. Nvidia shares fell more than 6% in premarket trading, on track for lows last seen in July 2025.

What happened

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday evening, Nov. 11, that Nvidia's board is preparing to oust CEO Jensen Huang after he had two extramarital affairs — one with Alice Huang, a Singapore-based data-center executive U.S. intelligence officials believe is working for China's intelligence services, and a second, newly reported affair with Kimberly Powell, a senior Nvidia executive who runs the company's healthcare business and reports to Huang (first reported by The New York Times on Wednesday). The board is planning to meet as soon as Wednesday to determine his future, according to people familiar with the matter. Nvidia shares fell about 8% in after-hours trading on the report. Polymarket bettors put 77% odds on Huang leaving his position by resignation or removal by year-end.

What happened

Chinese AI companies are rushing to rent Nvidia-powered computing capacity at data centres outside China, fearing the scandal engulfing Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang could spur Washington to tighten restrictions on their remote use of advanced processors, Reuters reported on November 12, citing three people familiar with the matter. A major Chinese cloud provider has discussed internally whether to lock in overseas Nvidia chip capacity, while other firms have contacted data-centre operators about reserving it; smaller AI labs are approaching rented-compute providers in Southeast Asia. The prospect of tougher enforcement has also fuelled grey-market stockpiling of restricted Nvidia AI chips in China, with traders and intermediaries buying up processors on fears of a broader US crackdown on smuggling. The report also notes procurement records showing a Chinese university with deep ties to the People's Liberation Army bought Nvidia's powerful H200 AI chips last month despite being on a US export blacklist.

What happened

Deutsche Bank revised its Federal Reserve forecast to three consecutive 25bp rate hikes — in December 2026, January 2027 and March 2027 — adding a January move to its previous December-and-March path with a pause in between. The bank said the revision followed October CPI, which rose 0.4% month-on-month against a 0.3% consensus forecast, with broad-based price gains. Three quarter-point hikes would lift the federal funds target range to 4.50%-4.75%, from 3.75%-4.00% now. Deutsche Bank also said it would not rule out a 50bp December hike after Fed Governor Waller floated the idea, though a half-point move is not its base case.