Open Interest 11/13/2026

NVIDIA Turmoil and Leadership Transition

• Jensen Huang stepped down as CEO following an internal investigation into his relationship with a woman who worked at Megaspeed, a firm under U.N. investigation for potential export control violations and chip diversions to China.
• Colette Kress has been appointed interim CEO and CFO while the board searches for a permanent successor.
• Stock market reaction saw NVIDIA shares fall as much as 14% intraday before closing down 4%, though pre-market trading on Friday showed a 2% rebound, suggesting investors view the issue as company-specific rather than a macro signal.
• Dan Ives (Wedbush) notes that with Huang's departure, NVIDIA's two-to-three-year lead over Chinese competitors has narrowed, creating a challenging environment for the next CEO.
• Potential external candidates include Tim Cook (Apple) or Renée Haas (ARM CEO), while internal contender Ian Buck leads the data center business and wrote CUDA.
• The U.S. Treasury Department, led by Scott Bessent, publicly distanced itself from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, revealing that the administration had intended to blacklist Megaspeed months prior to Lutnick's decision to withhold the action.
• Congress is summoning Howard Lutnick to a hearing next month to investigate Commerce Department handling of AI chip export controls.
• Lawmakers are pushing for three new legislative measures to restrict chip sales, curb smuggling, and deny China access to ASML semiconductor manufacturing equipment before year-end.
• The U.S.-China AI race dynamics are shifting as Chinese companies increasingly adopt open-weight AI models, while the U.S. focuses on recursive self-improvement models.

Microsoft Global Outage

• Microsoft experienced one of its longest outages in years, affecting Outlook, Teams, and other services across 70+ countries since Thursday afternoon.
• The root cause was a core process on a specific set of servers becoming overwhelmed, requiring a reboot of those systems; service restoration remains ongoing as of Friday pre-market.
• The outage disrupted critical operations, including government agencies, trading desks, and the UK National Health Service, where Teams issues caused the postponement of some clinical procedures.
• The disruption forced some financial traders and government offices to revert to legacy communication methods, such as faxes and phone calls, due to the unavailability of email.
• Microsoft shares dipped 1% in pre-market trading, though the decline is less severe than NVIDIA's, despite the outage's widespread impact on global workflows.

Macroeconomic Data and Fed Policy

• November PPI data came in cooler than expected, easing fears of an immediate Fed rate hike and causing the front end of the yield curve to decline.
• Despite the PPI relief, Boston Fed President Susan Collins stated that inflation remains "too high" with evidence of broadening price pressures, signaling that further tightening may be appropriate.
• Collins indicated that a tighter policy path than previously penciled in may be necessary, though she did not commit to a specific magnitude like a 50 basis point hike, emphasizing a data-dependent approach.
• The market is currently pricing in three rate hikes, largely reflecting the removal of cut expectations and the anticipation of additional tightening due to strong labor demand and energy-driven inflation.
• Inflation expectations remain anchored, but Collins noted that demand remains solid, creating a risk of persistent price pressures if supply does not catch up.

Market Performance and Sector Rotation

• Futures and equities rallied in pre-market trading following PPI data and NVIDIA relief, but the session turned negative with the Nasdaq down roughly 2% by midday.
• The S&P 500 experienced significant earnings concentration risk, with 35% of expected 2026 earnings growth attributed to just two stocks: NVIDIA and Micron.
• Sector rotation is evident, with capital flowing into profitable small-cap stocks and defensive sectors like healthcare and energy, while the semiconductor index (SOX) and "neocloud" names (CoreWeave, Nebius) fell over 10%.
• Cerebras Systems shares surged 13% on better-than-expected sales guidance and AI model performance, contrasting with Cisco's 5% drop on disappointing order growth.
• Goldman Sachs strategists maintain a bullish outlook, forecasting a 14% gain for the S&P 500 in the next 12 months, citing that hyperscaler valuations remain historically cheap despite recent corrections.

Corporate News and IPO Activity

• Anthropic's upcoming IPO is approximately six times oversubscribed, with the company seeking up to $64 billion in a public offering and an additional $26 billion privately, targeting a valuation near $1.4 trillion.
• Unlike SpaceX's fixed-price model, Anthropic is utilizing a traditional pricing range to allow for price discovery in a dynamic market.
• Samsung is reportedly in talks to acquire data center cooling firm Modine, which saw shares surge over 31% on the news, as Samsung seeks to diversify beyond memory chips into AI infrastructure.
• Palo Alto Networks shares rose 3.5% following an upgrade from KeyBanc, which cited increasing demand for AI-driven security and consolidation in the cybersecurity market.
• The book Investment Wisdom for Our Friends and Loved Ones, compiled by Lizanne Saunders and Rebecca Patterson, highlights the importance of long-term investing, discipline, and distinguishing between saving and investing to navigate market volatility.

Geopolitical Risks

• President-elect Trump and President Xi are scheduled to meet next week, with the discussion likely to focus on the broader trade and technology landscape rather than specific chip details, though the Jensen Huang scandal adds diplomatic tension.
• Concerns persist regarding critical mineral supply chains, with China potentially leveraging exports to respond to U.S. chip restrictions, creating a risk of immediate production pauses in U.S. industries.
• The ongoing conflict in Iran continues to pressure energy prices, with Brent crude near $97 per barrel, creating inflationary headwinds that could influence the Federal Reserve's next moves.
• Gold rose to $2,000+ and Bitcoin traded below $70,000 as investors navigated the mixed signals from equity volatility and inflation data.