By Amara Osei

Nvidia fell about 9.3% on November 5, and the NVDA/USDT perpetual mixed contract later hovered near $178.34, leaving the immediate trading test at $177–$180.

The near-term trading stance remains defensive. Tucker Walton, author of the chart analysis, attributes the pressure to two separate developments: doubts over returns from AI infrastructure spending and a governance inquiry involving Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang.

What drove the November 5 selloff?

Investors sold Nvidia and the wider AI and semiconductor sector on November 5. Their concern centered on the sustainability of AI spending, data-centre expansion and whether massive AI infrastructure investment would generate sufficient returns.

Walton's analysis links spending capacity with capital productivity: investors questioned not only whether AI spending would persist, but whether the infrastructure build-out would earn adequate returns. He judged Nvidia's weakness as more than a technical correction after several difficult sessions.

Nvidia's roughly 9.3% session fall quantified that concern. Separately, the chart showed price below the $207–$211 bearish order block and the subsequent $202 and $195 support levels on the four-hour timeframe.

What does the Huang inquiry change?

Nvidia's board opened an independent investigation after reports that a foreign intelligence operation had targeted Huang and involved alleged links to a Chinese businesswoman. The disclosure introduced a governance issue distinct from the sector's spending debate.

Huang also acknowledged personal misconduct in a message to employees. Nvidia said it currently had no reason to believe the company's secrets or national security information had been compromised, although the combination added uncertainty around leadership, governance and potential China-related scrutiny.

Even with Nvidia's statement that it had no reason to believe a compromise occurred, the inquiry placed management conduct and China-related scrutiny alongside the 9.3% sector-driven decline. Two questions therefore define the setup: whether AI infrastructure earns adequate returns and whether management conduct draws further scrutiny.

How weak has the chart structure become?

The chart tracks NVDAUSDT.P, identified as the “NVDAUSDTPERP PERPETUAL MIX CONTRACT” on Bitget. On its four-hour timeframe, price has broken the $207–$211 bearish order block (a failed support band), before breaking below $202 and then $195.

The chart placed the instrument at $178.34, close to a major weekly demand area (a price zone where buyers have shown interest). Immediate support lies at $177–$180, where buyers need to step in because a brief reaction alone would not confirm a reversal.

The chart identifies five monitored levels spanning immediate support, deeper demand and recovery resistance. They frame both the downside path and the conditions required to weaken the bearish structure.

• $177–$180: Immediate support zone; buyers need to defend the area.
• $171–$177: Next demand zone if $177–$180 support breaks.
• $165.75–$163.21: Deeper weekly demand area.
• $191–$195: First important resistance (a level where selling may reappear) on a recovery.
• $202.95: Key level to reclaim before the bearish structure starts weakening.

Reclaiming $191–$195 would mark the first recovery hurdle, while $202.95 is the key level required before the bearish structure starts weakening. If $177–$180 fails, the $171–$177 and $165.75–$163.21 zones define the downside watchlist.

Is a reversal forming near $177?

Walton rejected an immediate entry and said: “The $177 area could produce a reaction, but I want to see buyers actually step in before considering a reversal.” His distinction separates a possible support reaction from the buyer confirmation required for a change in the bearish four-hour structure.

His downside condition was equally explicit: if price loses $177–$180 support, the $171–$165 area becomes his next downside watchlist. That range includes the next $171–$177 demand zone and extends toward the deeper $165.75–$163.21 weekly demand area, leaving two lower reference points if support breaks.

“The combination of negative headlines and weak market structure makes me cautious,” Walton said. He will watch how price reacts around $177 rather than rush into a position, keeping $177–$180 as the immediate decision point and $171–$165 as the contingency if it fails.

For investors, the strategic distinction is between a reaction and confirmation. The November 5 decline of about 9.3% and the independent inquiry into Huang have compounded uncertainty, but a defended $177–$180 area would improve the technical case; a break would shift attention toward the $171–$165 downside zone.