Wall Street Opens Lower on Nvidia CEO Departure, Tech Stocks Decline

Wall Street trading opened in the red on Monday, with major indices experiencing declines. The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.6%, the S&P 500 lost 0.3%, and the Dow Jones added 0.1%. The primary driver of the downturn was the resignation of Jensen Huang, CEO and founder of Nvidia, which sent shockwaves through the tech sector. Nvidia's stock plummeted approximately 7.5% following the announcement, which came after days of reports about internal turmoil at the company. Huang's departure, after leading Nvidia since its founding in 1993, raises questions about the company's future business strategy, client relationships, and continued investments in AI infrastructure.

Other AI-related companies also saw significant drops. C3.ai (AI) lost 16.3%, and Verint Systems (VRNT) fell 6.5%. Verint reported strong revenue growth but delayed its target for reaching an annual revenue run rate of $7 billion. In the semiconductor industry, Nvidia's main competitors, AMD and Broadcom, saw gains of 3.1% and 4% respectively, as investors speculated that Nvidia's leadership uncertainty could create business opportunities for them.

Among Israeli companies trading on Wall Street, Cellebrite (CLBT) saw its stock rise by about 0.3% after reporting positive third-quarter results. The digital intelligence and investigation solutions provider announced an 18% revenue increase to $149 million, with annual recurring revenue (ARR) growing 20% to $528.5 million, and net profit reaching $26.7 million. Cellebrite also raised its adjusted EBITDA forecast for 2026 but maintained its ARR forecast.

Conversely, 3D printer manufacturer Stratasys (SSYS) experienced a 2.9% decline after releasing its earnings report. While the company's revenues grew 4.1% to $142.6 million and adjusted earnings per share were 4 cents (beating expectations of 2 cents), it lowered its annual revenue forecast. Tower Semiconductor, which had risen significantly the previous day, was down 3.5%, and Camtek was down 2.6%.

Adding to market concerns, the prospect of further interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve weighed on investors. The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds hovered around 5.02%, with a high probability assigned by investors to an additional quarter-point rate increase. Such yield levels are particularly challenging for growth companies reliant on future earnings. Later in the day, Cisco and Applied Materials were scheduled to release their earnings reports, which could provide further insight into the state of investments in technology infrastructure, communication equipment, and semiconductors, and serve as another test of investor confidence in the AI industry's continued expansion.