US stocks rebounded against a backdrop of lower oil prices. As buying returns to AI- and semiconductor-related stocks in Japan, the outlook for the market may be affected by NVDA’s affair scandal and regulatory developments surrounding the Texas gubernatorial election.
In the US market on the morning of 9 November, inflation concerns receded against a backdrop of falling crude oil futures. The Dow rebounded sharply from the previous day, closing at $52,389.75, while the Nasdaq Composite stood at 25,253.14 points at the same time and the SOX Index closed sharply higher at 10,033.93 points. Meanwhile, front-month WTI crude oil futures, for December delivery, ended trading at $86.85 after briefly reaching a roughly two-month low. This strengthened the market’s risk appetite and broadened buying in AI- and semiconductor-related stocks.
Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, acknowledged an affair said to involve a spy from China’s intelligence services. Meanwhile, it emerged that an agency had contacted people investigating allegations that the company’s AI semiconductors were being smuggled into China, causing the investigation to be suspended and transferred to the Department of Justice. President Trump explained that when he spoke with Huang, he did not know that the woman was a spy. These developments are thought likely to affect AI- and semiconductor-related stocks as a whole and the broader market.
Attention is focused on developments in Texas regulations governing data centres after the Democratic Party won majorities in both chambers of Congress in the US midterm elections held on 3 November. The new governor is due to take office in January 2027 and has pledged to halt approvals for new data centres. New projects are therefore expected to face a high likelihood of delays or reductions in 2027–2028. Texas accounts for approximately 25–27% of data-centre capacity, raising concerns that delays could affect AI infrastructure investment.
At the same time, October US employment data showed that nonfarm payrolls increased by 165 thousand from the previous month and that the unemployment rate fell to 4.1%. The number of part-time workers increased by 339 thousand to 4.8 million, and the market viewed this positively as a factor that could restrain the pace of interest-rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. Meanwhile, a consumer survey showed that the probability of a higher unemployment rate one year ahead remained elevated, leading to wider views that the labour market was not particularly tight.