'Jensen Huang effect' has some investors tracking itinerary, fattening pork-related holdings
Published: 04 Jun. 2026, 07:00
![Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, left, shakes hands with Marvell Technology CEO Matt Murphy during the Computex 2026 exhibition in Taipei, Taiwan, on June 2. [AP/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/06/04/39188643-465e-47c2-83f2-63eaf66064bd.jpg)
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, left, shakes hands with Marvell Technology CEO Matt Murphy during the Computex 2026 exhibition in Taipei, Taiwan, on June 2. [AP/YONHAP]
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is becoming a market catalyst in his own right.
Investors in Korea are increasingly reacting to his comments and travel schedule rather than corporate earnings or financial results — a phenomenon that some people are even calling the "Jensen Huang effect."
On Tuesday, Huang praised U.S. semiconductor company Marvell Technology, calling it the “next trillion dollar company" at Computex 2026 in Taipei, Taiwan.
Marvell Technology shares surged 33 percent that day to its biggest one-day gain in three years. The rally added roughly $50 billion in market value in a single session.
"Jensen Huang opens mouth. Out comes $50 billion," Bloomberg wrote in an article on Tuesday. Some investors may have bought the stock simply because they expected Huang to speak positively about Marvell, without even knowing much about the company itself, said Bloomberg.
The phenomenon has spread to the Korean market as well, as some investors seemingly rely more on the CEO's travel schedule than earnings reports or policy announcements.
![Jensen Huang KR Tracker, a website that tracks Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's itinerary and related stocks [SCREEN CAPTURE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/06/04/f4ffcd3f-8825-40a3-bb0a-14f9e47896e7.jpg)
Jensen Huang KR Tracker, a website that tracks Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's itinerary and related stocks [SCREEN CAPTURE]
The website Jensen Huang KR Tracker went live ahead of Huang's planned visit to Korea beginning Thursday. The site maps his expected itinerary, tracks companies linked to his meetings and monitors their share-price movements in real time.
The website had attracted more than 40,000 accumulated visitors as of 2 p.m. on Wednesday.
Shares of LG Electronics, Naver and Doosan Robotics — companies seen as potential beneficiaries of Huang's visit — surged after news broke that the Nvidia CEO would travel to Korea beginning Thursday.
Investor enthusiasm was fueled by Huang's comments on the robotics industry and his planned meetings with leaders of major Korean conglomerates.
LG Electronics hit the daily trading limit for two consecutive sessions on expectations of a meeting between Huang and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo.
![LG Electronics Magok business center in Gangseo District, western Seoul [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/06/04/a60cdad4-ca86-4ff0-ad67-b8a37a878db0.jpg)
LG Electronics Magok business center in Gangseo District, western Seoul [NEWS1]
LG Electronics' share surged almost 15 percent during intraday trading but ultimately closed with a 3.15 percent increase from the previous session on Tuesday as investors rushed to take profits.
Many of the stocks linked to Huang followed a similar pattern of fluctuations.
"Volatility tends to increase in a market driven by narratives rather than earnings," said Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities.
The frenzy has spread to what some investors jokingly call " samgyeopsal [pork belly] theme stocks" after reports came that Huang may meet Korean business leaders in a pork belly restaurant.
Reports suggested that he may meet with LG Group Chairman Koo, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Naver founder and board chairman Lee Hae-jin in Seoul’s Seongsu neighborhood in Seongdong District, eastern Seoul, over a round of “somaek” — a portmanteau of soju and the Korean word for “beer” — on Friday.
The speculation sent shares of pork producer Sunjin up 4.75 percent and Woorison F&G, a company that primarily focuses on pig farming and meat processing, up 6.61 percent on Tuesday.
![Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, right, Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, left, and Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung share fried chicken and beer on Oct. 30, 2025. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/06/04/95c3798c-eb54-4f3a-928b-561397d8ad02.jpg)
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, right, Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, left, and Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung share fried chicken and beer on Oct. 30, 2025. [NEWS1]
The move echoed last year’s market reaction when Huang visited Korea and met Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Hyundai Motor Executive Chair Euisun Chung for a widely publicized chimaek — a combination of the Korean words for “chicken” and “beer” — gathering last October that sparked rallies in chicken-related stocks.
Nevertheless, market observers have expressed concern that the AI rally is becoming overly dependent on a small number of companies and high-profile individuals.
In fact, comments calling the market "a joke" and "ridiculous" have flooded an investor community on Reddit after the news of Marvell's share surge.
“We are definitely in a moment where there’s more greed than there is fear," said Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY PARK YU-MI [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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