Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA, ETR:NVD) shares were under pressure in premarket trading on Monday after China’s markets regulator decided that the US company broke antitrust laws.
The regulator said anti-monopoly rules were breached in connection with the US company's acquisition of Mellanox Technologies in 2020, an Israeli data center network solutions specialist.
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) opened an investigation into the Mellanox acquisition last year, with approval granted in China based on certain conditions.
SAMR did not explain more details of the breach.
Chinese and US delegations are currently in Madrid for a new round of trade talks, which began over the weekend.
"It looks like Beijing is looking for ways to strike back after Washington’s ongoing threats of tariffs and export controls amid wider trade tensions and an AI arms race between the world’s two leading economies," said Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor.
"No doubt Nvidia - which has powered much of the US stock market’s recent gains - will be a talking point and a bargaining chip during trade talks".