ASX 200 Live Today - Monday, 16th November

Welcome to our live ASX coverage for Monday, November 16. Expect a high volume of posts pre-market and more periodic updates throughout the day. We'll be wrapping the blog up around 2:00 pm AEDT.

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Wall Street caps best week since August despite Nvidia drag

[8:30 am] US stocks posted their strongest weekly gains in three months, even as a deepening chip selloff pulled the S&P 500 and Nasdaq lower on Friday.

• All three indices notched their best week since early August, with the S&P 500 up 2.5%, the Nasdaq up 2.3% and the Dow up 2.1%

• October PPI rose 0.3% m/m vs 0.4% ests, though the annual rise of 6.5% was the largest since November 2022

• Gains in most S&P 500 stocks were offset by tech weakness, with investors rotating towards non-AI sectors

Nvidia downgraded as CEO search adds to uncertainty

[8:29 am] HSBC has cut Nvidia to hold, arguing the stock will struggle until a permanent replacement is found for Jensen Huang, who resigned on Thursday after reports of extramarital affairs, including a relationship with a woman US intelligence officials believe is a Chinese spy.

• Shares fell 13% for the week, the biggest weekly drop since April 2025

• HSBC cut its rating to hold from buy and slashed its price target to US$170 from US$365

• CFO Colette Kress is interim CEO, and Nvidia said it is still selecting a firm to find a successor after the FT reported the board approached Arm CEO Rene Haas

• Nvidia faces probes into whether US export restrictions were circumvented in sales to Chinese companies

• Goldman Sachs expects Nvidia to honour existing commitments but warned it may struggle to strike new multi-party AI investments at the same scale

• Third-quarter results are due on Tuesday (US time)

Oil steadies as Trump cools on Iran talks

[8:28 am] Oil swung in a narrow range on Friday as hawkish signals from Washington on Iran were offset by signs of a growing supply surplus.

• Brent rose to US$96.28 a barrel for a second weekly decline, while WTI gained 0.2% to US$88.91

• Trump told Vice President Vance to focus on domestic issues rather than negotiations with Tehran, posting that the US doesn’t need a deal with Iran

• Prices briefly hit intraday highs after Axios reported the Mossad director was in Washington for talks on the war

• The IEA said the oil market will be in surplus this quarter for the first time since the war began

• There were 36 confirmed attacks on commercial ships in the Gulf region in October, the most in any month since the war began, according to Verisk Maplecroft

• US crude and fuel inventories rose last week and refinery runs climbed to a seasonal record

Treasury selloff deepens as traders bet on more Fed hikes

[8:27 am] US bond yields posted their sharpest weekly rise in more than two years as hot inflation data and hawkish Fed commentary forced traders to price in further tightening.

• The US 2-year yield rose 35bps for the week, the most in more than two years, before edging lower to 4.85% on Friday after October PPI rose 0.3% m/m vs 0.4% ests

• The 10-year yield rose about 2bps to 5.14% on Friday, taking its weekly gain to nearly 30bps

• Markets fully price a 25bp hike on 9 December with an outside chance of 50bps, and more than 80bps of tightening over the next year vs less than 50bps a week ago

• Fed officials lined up behind further hikes, with Governor Waller favouring a 50bp move if inflation keeps accelerating and Dallas Fed President Logan flagging a faster pace of increases next year

• Global yields followed Treasuries higher, with Germany’s 10-year up about 4bps to 3.40% and yields in Japan and Australia nearing multi-year highs

• The Fed’s financial stability report flagged elevated equity valuations, partly driven by AI enthusiasm, and cited higher long-term rates and fiscal debt sustainability as near-term risks

Good morning!

[8:21 am] ASX 200 futures are down 2 pts (-0.02%). Here's what happened overnight:

• Major US benchmarks mostly fell as chipmakers slumped again, though the S&P 500 still rose 2.5% for the week and the Nasdaq posted its best week since August

  • S&P 500 (-0.40%), Nasdaq (-0.91%)

  • Equal-weight S&P 500 (+0.20%)

  • Dow (+0.10%), Russell 2000 (-0.31%)

• Nvidia faces mounting Washington pressure ahead of Tuesday’s results, with Treasury Secretary Bessent calling for a leadership overhaul and Senate Republicans seeking Lutnick’s testimony on China chip controls

• Iran said several tankers struck naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, while Houthis took control of the Bab el-Mandeb chokepoint after Yemeni forces withdrew