HONG KONG/WASHINGTON — A severe tech stock sell-off rippled across Asian markets on Friday, extending a sharp Wall Street rout triggered by concerns over potential regulatory hurdles and slower infrastructure expansion for artificial intelligence following the US midterm elections.
The turmoil began in the United States on Thursday, where the tech-focused Nasdaq index tumbled 5.5 percent, wiping trillions of dollars in market value off major firms. Investors grew anxious that Democratic midterm victories could usher in stricter oversight of artificial intelligence and push back against the rapid construction of power-hungry data centers.
The panic quickly spread to Asian trading sessions. Japan’s Nikkei index slumped 6 percent in its steepest one-day drop since April 2025. Markets in South Korea and Taiwan initially plunged more than 8 percent before recovering ground later in the day. Authorities intervened across the region to stem the sell-off; South Korean market authorities temporarily halted trading on the Kospi index, and the country's finance minister eased rules on retail leveraged investments. Meanwhile, state entities in China stepped in to purchase equities to stabilize local markets.
Major regional chipmakers and tech investors suffered steep declines, including South Korea's Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, Taiwan's TSMC, and Japan's SoftBank Group, though all pared some of their earlier losses by the close. Analysts noted that the political jitters compounded existing market anxieties regarding whether massive capital expenditures on AI infrastructure will yield sufficient returns.
