The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed lower on Friday, as concerns about Nvidia pressured technology shares, while a reading on inflation failed to alter expectations for more rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.
Nvidia's shares fell and recorded their sixth straight week of declines, their longest streak since October 2012, after CEO Jensen Huang's resignation on Thursday. He stepped down after revelations of extramarital affairs, including a relationship with a businesswoman suspected by the US of spying for China.
The Financial Times reported that Nvidia's board has approached British chipmaker Arm Holdings CEO Rene Haas in its search for a potential successor to Huang.
The uncertainty about leadership at the chipmaker has raised concerns about the durability of the AI trade, given Nvidia's primary role in the industry's boom and its financial ties to a host of companies in the sector, which has been a pillar of the bull market in equities.
"The tech trade, the AI trade, Nvidia is going to go through a period of volatility, and you're going to see the bulls and bears kind of wrestle on where this narrative goes through the rest of the year ... there's been a loss of confidence," said Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial in Troy, Michigan.