Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang has resigned after admitting to an extramarital affair with a woman reportedly identified by US intelligence officials as a suspected Chinese intelligence asset, a development that contributed to a volatile session for London equities on Thursday.
The FTSE 100 closed up 27.62 points, or 0.3%, at 10,863.09, recovering after drifting into the red in the early afternoon. The FTSE 250 ended just 8.20 points lower at 24,916.84, while the AIM all-share shed 8.03 points, or 1.1%, at 756.26.
Nvidia Shares Fall on CEO Departure
Nvidia was down 4.8% at the time of the London equity market close, though well above earlier lows, as the chip maker confirmed Mr Huang's resignation. On Sunday, Mr Huang admitted to an extramarital affair with Alice Huang, whom US intelligence officials have reportedly identified as a suspected Chinese intelligence asset, raising concerns about potential risks to sensitive information relating to US restrictions on AI chip exports to China.
Separately, the New York Times reported that the former chief executive had a second extramarital relationship with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of healthcare, who reported directly to him.
Colette Kress, who has served as Nvidia's chief financial officer since September 2013, will retain her finance responsibilities while serving as interim chief executive. The board has launched a search for a permanent successor, considering both internal and external candidates. The news saw the chip maker's market value fall below four trillion US dollars for the first time since July 2025.
Succession Speculation
Dan Ives, analyst at Yorkville Ives, said: "Colette Kress has built enormous credibility internally and externally and we are big fans of her strategically." He added: "We always believed she would eventually be chief executive of a major public tech company, but (that) she would have to leave Nvidia after many years there."
Mr Ives said there is also a good chance Nvidia looks to the outside for a chief executive, which could include a host of names "including Apple's Tim Cook as a dark horse candidate in our view given the global importance of Nvidia to the overall US tech industry". Mr Cook left iPhone maker Apple in September.
Mr Cook was also tipped by US President Donald Trump, who wrote: "Now that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who has done a fantastic job, has resigned, there is only one man to take his place – Tim Cook of Apple. A Legend replaces a Legend!"
Brian Colello, senior equity analyst at Morningstar, pointed out prediction markets have identified Rene Haas, former Nvidia vice president and current chief executive of Arm Holdings, as a potential external replacement, in addition to internal candidates Ms Kress and Ian Buck, head of Nvidia's AI efforts.
UK Growth Data Beats Expectations
Back in London, investors weighed another surprisingly resilient economic growth print. Monthly gross domestic product increased by 0.2% in September, beating expectations of no growth, following a flat reading in August, revised down from an initial estimate of 0.1% growth. This took GDP growth to 0.7% in the three months to September, accelerating from 0.5% growth in the second quarter and matching the FXStreet-cited consensus forecast, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics.
"Strip out the pandemic years and you have to go back to 2017 to find the economy running this hot," Sanjay Raja, chief UK economist at Deutsche Bank, said. He attributed the strength to higher household consumption, business investment and government spending, alongside the rapid expansion of AI-related activity.
Kallum Pickering, chief economist at broker Peel Hunt, pointed out that growth in the first three quarters of 2026 has averaged an annualised rate of around 2.4%. "That is healthy even by historical standards, comfortably above the pace the UK has managed for most of the past decade, and well above our own 1.8% estimate of UK potential growth," he said.
Currency and Commodity Movements
The pound was quoted at 1.3233 dollars late on Thursday afternoon, down from 1.3284 dollars at the same time on Wednesday. Against the euro, sterling eased to 1.1968 euros from 1.1974 euros. The euro was lower at 1.1061 dollars from 1.1095 dollars late on Wednesday. Against the yen, the dollar was higher at 159.97 yen from 159.83 yen.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 5.08% late on Thursday afternoon, stretched from 5.00% on Tuesday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was at 5.42%, widened from 5.36%.
In Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.3%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt climbed 0.4%. In the US, equity markets were higher across the board, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.4%, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both 0.3% higher around the time of the London equities close.
Corporate Earnings and Trading Updates
On the FTSE 100, Burberry led the winners, up 8.1%, with 3i Group, up 5.7%, close behind. London-based luxury goods brand Burberry reported pretax profit of £19 million in the 26 weeks that ended September 26, swinging from a £48 million loss a year prior. Adjusted operating profit jumped to £62 million from £19 million, beating £44 million company-compiled consensus, while revenue increased 6.8% to £1.10 billion from £1.03 billion a year earlier, ahead of £1.08 billion consensus.
AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said Burberry is "starting to get on a roll", but noted the fashion world is "capricious", so investors will take "nothing for granted but a return to profit for the first half is a notable milestone in its recovery plan".
Meanwhile, 3i Group advanced as it started a new share buyback, raised its interim dividend, posted a net asset value rise, and increased its stake in its largest investment, Dutch discount retailer Action.
Firmly in the red was Endeavour Mining, down 8.5%, as it warned that output at its Mana gold mine in Burkina Faso would fall below the lower end of guidance, while a plunging gold price added to its woes. The miner reported lower third-quarter gold production and warned that output at its Mana mine would fall below the lower end of guidance of between 155,000 ounces and 180,000, citing a previously disclosed partial ramp subsidence. Gold was quoted at 3,865.83 dollars an ounce on Thursday, lower than 4,000.66 dollars on Wednesday. Fellow gold miner Fresnillo dropped 3.0%.
On the FTSE 250, B&M European Value Retail soared 21% as it reported UK like-for-like sales accelerated in its second quarter, while Metro Bank jumped 9.7% as it announced a strategic review, including a formal sales process. Dr Martens fell 15% as it said revenue fell 9.8% to £290.4 million in the six months ended September 27 from £322.0 million a year ago. Boot sales declined 11% to 4.2 million from 4.7 million. Chief executive Ije Nwokorie said boot sales were impacted by the "exceptionally" hot summer weather. WH Smith, down 6.7%, gave lacklustre guidance and said like-for-like sales growth has slowed in the new financial year compared with the final three months of the prior year.
Brent oil was trading at 93.53 dollars a barrel on Thursday, lower than 94.03 dollars late on Wednesday. The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Burberry Group, up 87.50p at 1,180.50p, 3i Group, up 145.00p at 2,710.00p, Land Securities Group, up 14.50p at 696.00p, Rolls-Royce Holdings, up 27.00p at 1,369.60p and United Utilities, up 30.00p at 1,570.00p. The biggest fallers were Endeavour Mining, down 349.00p at 3,778.00p, Babcock International, down 44.60p at 995.40p, ICG, down 74.00p at 1,880.00p, Fresnillo, down 75.00p at 2,444.00p and Coca-Cola HBC, down 122.00p at 4,208.00p.
Friday's global economic events calendar has eurozone GDP data and US PPI figures, while the local corporate calendar has a trading statement from insurer Aviva and half-year results from Land Securities.
