Wall Street drops as Nvidia falls after CEO resignation, Tesla gains on merger talks

U.S. equities closed lower on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.4% to 52,297, the S&P 500 down 0.4% to 7,592 and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.4% to 25,366. The decline was driven primarily by a 4.3% drop in Nvidia shares after the company's board announced that co-founder Jensen Huang had resigned as president, chief executive officer and board member, naming CFO Colette Kress as interim CEO.

"The board has announced that Jensen Huang has resigned as President, Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the Board, effective immediately. Chief financial officer Colette Kress has been appointed interim CEO," the company statement said.

Other semiconductor stocks posted modest gains, limiting the broader market loss, and higher oil prices supported energy shares. Tesla stock edged up about 1% after Bloomberg reported that Tesla and SpaceX were advancing discussions on a possible merger, with advisers reviewing deal terms and an announcement potentially forthcoming as early as December.

In related market activity, several small-cap companies disclosed corporate developments, including Century Lithium receiving a water-pollution control permit in Nevada and New Era Energy & Digital securing a 20-year power agreement for its Texas data-center project. Meanwhile, Nvidia’s share price fell sharply after the leadership change, prompting a broader sell-off in AI-related stocks such as CoreWeave and Micron Technology.

Across the Atlantic, the FTSE 100 rose modestly, buoyed by gains in Burberry and Rolls-Royce, while the FTSE 250 remained under pressure. European markets posted modest gains, with the Euro Stoxx 50 up 0.3% and the Stoxx 600 reaching a record high.