Asian stocks fell sharply on Friday, November 6, after a selloff in US technology shares spread across the region. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 5.5% in early trading, while South Korea’s Kospi dropped as much as 8.8%, triggering a 20-minute trading halt.
Taiwan’s TAIEX also fell more than 8%. Chipmakers were among the hardest hit: Samsung Electronics lost nearly 10%, SK Hynix fell more than 11% and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company came under pressure. In Japan, Tokyo Electron shares were down about 9% and Kioxia fell 13%, according to DW.
Investors question AI spending plans
The declines followed Thursday’s losses on Wall Street, where the Nasdaq fell 5.52% and the S&P 500 dropped 4.4%. The Nasdaq’s fall erased as much as $2.5 trillion in market value, the source reported.
Investors have grown concerned that the enormous sums being committed to artificial intelligence infrastructure, including data centers, may not deliver profits on a comparable scale. Those concerns have weighed on companies tied to the AI buildout.
Michael McCarthy, chief executive for Australia and New Zealand at online brokerage Moomoo, told Reuters that market sentiment had shifted and that the previous session’s sharp losses suggested the selling direction had become clearer.
The falls extended across Asian markets, with the Kospi’s trading suspension underscoring the scale of the move. European stock futures were also lower, though they indicated a possible spillover rather than the outcome of European trading.
Nicole French