AMD, AVGO, INTC, MU: Chip Stocks Inch Higher As Investors Look Past Midterms-Led Selloff, Nvidia Controversy

• Major chip stocks rose in overnight trading on Sunday, while Nvidia plunged.
• Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang admitted to an illicit affair with a suspected Chinese spy and the company has launched an investigation.
• Nvidia will likely face a barrage of questions on the issue at its upcoming earnings report on Nov. 17.

Major chip stocks bounced back while Nvidia (NVDA) dropped into the red in overnight trading on Sunday after AI chipmaker’s chief Jensen Huang admitted to having an illicit romantic relationship with an alleged Chinese spy, prompting the company to launch an investigation.

Broadcom (AVGO) and Micron (MU) gained about 0.8% each, while Intel (INTC) rose 1.2%, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) rose 1.7% and The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) gained 0.6%. Nvidia shares were down 3.5%.

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Nvidia’s Jensen Huang Faces Board Probe

In an email to Nvidia staff on Sunday, Huang said he was unfaithful to his wife, while the company said in an announcement that it had no evidence to suggest that U.S. national secrets nor Nvidia's internal information were compromised.

It follows a series of reports that Huang was targeted by former Megaspeed International executive Alice Huang, whom the U.S. government suspects was recruited by a Chinese spy agency. 

Some analysts believe that the incident could have far reaching consequences, including a near-term overhang on NVDA stock and Huang ultimately losing his CEO title.

Nvidia will likely face a barrage of questions on the issue at its upcoming earnings report on Nov. 17.

Chip Stocks Recover Amid Data Center Regulation Concerns

With the Nvidia news being a trigger, investors appeared to look past last week’s sharp selloff, sparked by concerns that the Democrats’ victory in Congress could lead to tighter regulation of data centers and AI. SOXX fell 12.2% last Thursday, its worst fall in over six years.

Data center spending has ​been a fast-growing source of revenue for a range of industries like chips, power equipment, software. Bank of America estimates spending on data centers to hit $1 trillion this year and more than double to $2.1 ‌trillion by 2028.

Mixed Earnings Leave Investors Picking Winners 

The bounce comes as investors peruse mixed results from chipmakers. After Intel’s tepid forecast, AMD last week posted results and forecasts that were better than expectations. In fact, AMD said its sales would surpass Intel’s for the first time in the current quarter.

Retail View On Chip Stocks

On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment was ‘extremely bullish’ for AMD, SOXX and MU, ‘bullish’ for INTC, and ‘neutral’ for AVGO.

“Looks like people are preparing for an explosive recovery in the market this upcoming week…this will include $INTC,” said a trader. Another wrote: “$NVDA  $SOXX  probably the bottom. All the bad news is out. Rotate to $AVGO or $AMD or $MU.”

On the Micron stream, a trader reminded that the company is largely expected to announce a major buyback in December and “right now, MU is free money.”

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