Europe open: Stoxx, DAX hit new highs but tech stocks slide on more Nvidia revelations

(Sharecast News) - European shares hit a record high at the open after a bullish session on Wall Street driven by third quarter earnings from neocloud giant CoreWeave and despite reports that the Nvidia board was mulling the dismissal of Jensen Huang over his affair with an alleged Chinese spy and a rumoured second extramarital relationship.

The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was up 0.38% to 665.36 at 0805 GMT having touched 665.65 on the opening bell. Most major regional bourses were higher with Germany's DAX up 1.26% after reaching its own high of 26,977. Sentiment was boosted after CoreWeave shares surged 24.71% on after topping Wall Street expectations with its latest quarterly revenues.

Nvidia shares fell 7% in Frankfurt after reports that the board was considering the future of Huang following allegations relating to his personal conduct.

According to reports, directors met on Wednesday to discuss Huang's position after fresh claims emerged of a separate relationship with a company employee, marking a shift from the board's earlier public backing of the CEO. Shares were down more than 8% after the Wall Street Journal reported that the chipmaker was preparing to remove Huang from the role.

The news sent European tech stocks lower, with BE Semiconductor, Soitec, Infineon and ASML all lower.

In other equity news, shares in UK defence firm Qinetiq jumped as it posted higher interim profits and announced the sale of its US business to Serco.

Rolls-Royce also gained as the aircraft engine maker announced a new £1.5bn share buyback programme on and reiterated its confidence in long-term cash generation, citing strong demand across its civil aerospace, defence and power systems businesses.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com