Dhaka, Nov. 12 -- As chip giant Nvidia's chief Jensen Huang stepped down on Thursday, investors' biggest fears were as much about the future of the multitrillion-dollar company as its ability and willingness to continue bankrolling the AI boom.

Huang's exit is yet another pressure point on the global markets' most crowded trade and came after the board of the world's dominant chipmaker, at the cutting edge of computing, met late on Wednesday to decide the longtime CEO's fate after reports of his two extramarital affairs.

The company said Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress will take over as interim CEO as Nvidia looks for a permanent successor.

Traders' first reaction was to punish Nvidia shares and those of its customers, including ...