Asian equities fought their way out of deep technical troughs on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 surged 2.04% while Taiwan's TAIEX climbed 2.84%, riding a late Wall Street bounce in semiconductor hardware. The broader MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.6%. Yet the relief was measured. Risk appetite faced an immediate ceiling as Nvidia's board opened an independent probe into chief executive Jensen Huang over his relationship with Alice Huang, a figure tied to cloud client Megaspeed and flagged by intelligence agencies.
The numbers across regional bourses reflected selective dip-buying rather than broad institutional conviction. Seoul's Kospi slipped 0.25%, bucking the morning trend. In Hong Kong, Hang Seng futures gained 0.6%, while Tokyo's Topix jumped 2.82% after last week's brutal tech selloff pushed Japanese and Taiwanese benchmarks into technical bear markets. In currency trade, the Japanese yen firmed 0.1% to 158.26 against the greenback, while China's offshore yuan held steady around 6.6708.
| Index / Asset | Move | Level / Context |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
|---|---|---|
| Nikkei 225 | +2.04% | Tokyo morning rally |
| TAIEX (Taiwan) | +2.84% | Tech-led bounce |
| Topix | +2.82% | Rebound from bear territory |
| Kospi | -0.25% | Regional outlier |
| Brent Crude | -16% weekly | Sinks to $97.42/barrel |
| USD/JPY | -0.1% | 158.26 per dollar |
Domestic desks in Mumbai braced for quiet tape. GIFT Nifty traded flat, pointing to a muted start for Indian benchmarks ahead of Tuesday's Diwali closure. Thin holiday participation dominated institutional flow. Atul Suri, chief executive of Marathon Trends PMS, maintained his bullish medium-term call on domestic equities with an unchanged Nifty target of 30,800. Suri characterized the current market bounce strictly as short covering rather than an authentic structural breakout, cautioning portfolio managers to deploy dry powder only into counters punching out fresh 52-week highs.
Silicon Valley politics and corporate drama collided directly on trading screens. Huang admitted the extramarital affair in an emailed disclosure, stating he had let down his family, colleagues, and shareholders. The company's board began scrutinizing the relationship amid security concerns that confidential commercial data reached Chinese authorities through Megaspeed.
Nasdaq futures tumbled 150 points on Sunday night when US books opened, erasing Friday's late optimism. Dow futures clawed back 150 points after shedding more than 2,000 points across two sessions following the sweeping Democratic victory in the US midterm elections. Semiconductor counters had rallied on Friday—Nvidia gained 3% and Micron advanced 5%—after regulatory anxiety over artificial intelligence chip controls appeared to ease. But Huang's internal inquiry quickly snapped institutional momentum. Separately, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing is assessing advanced memory fabrication, positioning the foundry to seize direct control over broader segments of the artificial intelligence hardware chain.
Commodities deepened the market's defensive tone. Brent crude fell below $98 to trade at $97.42 a barrel in early Asian dealing, compounding a weekly plunge of more than 16%—its sharpest drop since April 2020. US West Texas Intermediate hovered near $90. Energy desks monitored diplomatic signals between Washington and Tehran, following US statements that further military strikes on Iran remain highly unlikely if negotiations advance on Tehran's nuclear file and shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz reopen.