Nvidia Leadership Turmoil, Hot US Inflation and Higher Oil Weigh on Markets

Nvidia's board weighs its CEO's future as Asian shares slip, while October US inflation beat forecasts and oil stays above $100. The Bank of England has lifted rates to 4%.

Maz Vantage · 12 Nov 2026

Wall Street and the Nvidia question

Wall Street closed Wednesday with a rally led by AI and semiconductor stocks, according to a Nasdaq/RTTNews report that pointed to a flat-to-higher open in Europe. Asian markets were more fragile on Thursday. Investing.com reported that Asian stocks fell as Nvidia's board prepared to decide the future of its chief executive, and that Japan's Nikkei 225 closed down 0.71%.

The Nvidia leadership story is the main company-specific risk for the market today. The BBC reported that the company hired a major US law firm to investigate an alleged affair between its chief executive and a woman believed to be a spy for China. The Guardian said the board was reportedly meeting to decide the CEO's future as the share price fell sharply. The outcome had not been reported in the sources at the time of writing.

Separately, the BBC noted that the AI company behind the Claude chatbot is set to price its stock-market debut at $70 to $78 per share, lower than had been expected, with a valuation of about $1.3tn. Investing.com also flagged that Strategy is to be removed from MSCI indexes, a development with possible implications for Bitcoin.

US inflation and the Fed

US consumer prices rose 0.4% in October, above the 0.3% analysts expected but slower than September's 0.6%, the BBC reported. Housing, food and energy drove the increase, though energy prices rose 0.7% after a 5.2% jump in September. The BBC said the data could strengthen the case for a Fed rate rise in December. Because no data were collected in October 2025, no 12-month figure was available; inflation was 3.7% in the 12 months to September.

At its October meeting the Fed held the federal funds target range at 3-3/4 to 4 percent by a 10-2 vote. Lisa Cook and Beth Hammack dissented in favour of a quarter-point increase. The statement described economic activity as expanding at a strong pace and inflation as elevated.

Oil and energy

The BBC noted that crude oil, which traded at just over $70 a barrel before the US-Israel war with Iran began, is currently over $100. The Guardian reported that UK diesel prices remain close to October's record high of about £2 a litre despite some oil price falls, with a senior central-bank official warning that energy costs are likely to remain elevated.

Europe, the UK and central banks

The Bank of England raised Bank Rate by 0.25 points to 4% on 5 November, by an 8-1 vote, with one member preferring a half-point rise. The Bank said UK inflation, at 3.5% in September, is expected to rise to around 5% by the middle of next year as energy costs feed through, and that policy is not on a pre-set path. Official figures released Thursday showed the UK economy grew 0.7% in the three months to September, the fastest pace in more than two years, driven by services.

In the euro area, the European Central Bank's wage tracker points to slightly higher wage growth in the first three quarters of 2027 than in 2026 as a whole.

European earnings are under way. Allianz raised the upper end of its 2026 operating profit range after third-quarter results, and Merck KGaA lifted its full-year outlook.

Sources