Asian markets tumbled Friday after a sharp sell-off on Wall Street spread across the region, dragging down major indexes in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
U.S. stock futures were mixed. Nasdaq futures rose about 1.3%, hinting at a possible recovery for technology shares after Thursday’s losses, while Dow futures slipped 0.71%.
South Korea’s KOSPI fell more than 8%, prompting a temporary halt to trading intended to curb volatility. Trading later resumed, and the index was down about 7%.
Technology shares lead regional losses
Japan’s Nikkei, which has a large technology component, dropped roughly 6%, putting it on course for its steepest daily decline in eight months. Taiwan’s benchmark index lost more than 8% as technology and semiconductor stocks came under pressure.
Chipmakers and other companies linked to artificial intelligence were among the hardest hit. Samsung Electronics fell nearly 10%, and SK Hynix slid 11.7%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company declined 8.5%, while Japan’s SoftBank Group lost about 11%.
Investors weigh election impact after Wall Street plunge
The declines followed a sharp drop in U.S. markets Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1,833 points, or 3.44%, and the S&P 500 fell 4.36%. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 5.52%, entering correction territory after falling more than 10% from its October record high.
Investors have been considering what Democrats’ sweeping midterm victories, which gave the party control of both chambers of Congress, could mean for businesses. Some are concerned about tighter regulation of artificial intelligence companies and possible limits on data center construction.
President Donald Trump blamed the election results for the market’s losses and said Americans’ retirement savings had been hurt. In a post on Truth Social, he called it one of the worst days in stock market history based on the election outcome.
Trump also predicted a recovery, saying the country would soon be “bigger and stronger than ever before.”
