Asian stocks rise 0.6% as chip shares steady, Nasdaq futures slip on CoreWeave worries
Topix gains 1.4% while Nasdaq 100 futures fall 0.5% as concerns over CoreWeave's debt linger
Published
Asian stocks rose 0.6% on Thursday as chip shares stabilized after Wall Street's rebound. Japan's Topix led the region, gaining 1.4%. Nasdaq 100 futures told a different story, falling 0.5% on renewed concern over artificial intelligence spending and CoreWeave's debt.
The worry traces back to Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang's comment that Nvidia would not backstop CoreWeave. After that, CoreWeave's five-year credit default swaps surged to a record 1,194.5 basis points and its 2031 bonds fell to 82.75 cents on the dollar.
Last week, CoreWeave shares fell 8.3% to $60.36, their lowest level since May 2025 and below the $97.85 conversion price on the company's September convertible notes. They later rebounded 2.1% after Huang defended the company's finances.
That sequence is now repeating in miniature. Chip shares have steadied and Japan has rallied, yet Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.5% on the same CoreWeave debt concerns that drove last week's selloff and rebound. The pattern suggests that broad market strength or verbal reassurance from Nvidia brings only temporary relief, while the leverage questions around CoreWeave's roughly $40 billion in debt remain unresolved.