Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 5.5% in early trade on Friday, November 6, and slid to 6% down by 07:00 PKT, pushing the index more than 20% below its June peak and into a bear market. South Korea's KOSPI fell harder: it dropped 8.52% within three minutes of the open, broke below 5,000 to a nine-month low, and tripped a Level 1 circuit breaker that halted trading for 20 minutes. The selling crossed the Pacific overnight from Wall Street, where the Nasdaq had just posted its worst session since April 2025.
The trigger sits in Washington. Democrats swept both the House and the Senate in the midterm elections on November 3, and traders now price a higher chance that Congress slows the build-out of AI data centres through tighter rules on energy use, emissions and market power. Memory names took the worst of it in New York, with Micron down 17.5% and SanDisk down 22.3%, while Nvidia fell 9.3% and AMD lost 17.3%, per the Korea Herald. In Seoul, Samsung fell 10% and SK Hynix 11.7% before the halt, per Channel News Asia. In Tokyo, SoftBank slid 11% and Kioxia plunged 14%, per Reuters.
The rout, day by day
Tuesday, November 3: Democrats win the House and the Senate. Markets first cheer: the Dow jumps 1,569 points the next day, its best post-midterm session since 1982, per our November 5 report.
Thursday, November 5: Wall Street gives back the whole rally and more. The Nasdaq falls 5.52% to 24,315, the S&P 500 drops 4.36% to 7,353.73, and the Dow loses 1,833 points, or 3.44%, to 51,523.06. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index slumps 12.2%. The Nasdaq now sits 12% below its October record close, in correction territory, per Reuters. About $3 trillion comes off S&P 500 companies, per Reuters via the Straits Times. The Cboe Volatility Index jumps 11.5 points to 28.09, an eight-month high, per Reuters.
Friday, November 6, 05:03 PKT: the KOSPI opens 2.24% lower, then falls 459.19 points to 4,924.61, down 8.52% from its previous close of 5,383.80. The Korea Exchange halts trading for 20 minutes, its 11th circuit breaker this year. The KOSDAQ triggers a sell-side sidecar after falling 6.40% to 634.97. By 05:18 PKT the Nikkei stands at 57,713.19, down 5.5%, with the Topix down 4.9%, per Reuters. The Nikkei later touches 57,288.91, down 6.2%. Taiwan's TSMC falls 8.5%, per Reuters.
Bitcoin fell with stocks: $76,057 in the MarketRadar snapshot, down 5.5%, and Ethereum $2,239, down 7.74%. Gold holds at $4,054.90, down 0.89%. The dollar slips against the yen and the Swiss franc, per Reuters; USD/JPY sits at 157.87.
Why it matters
The speed of the turn is the story. Three sessions ago the market treated the midterm result as a relief rally; two sessions later it reads as a threat to the AI spending cycle that drove indexes to records. Michael McCarthy of brokerage Moomoo told Reuters the market shows "a real shift in sentiment." The same AI trade that lifted Bitcoin before the rout now drags crypto down with equities.
What to watch
- The October US jobs report at 18:30 PKT on Friday, after the Federal Reserve held its benchmark at 3.75%-4% on October 28.
- Whether the Nikkei holds above 57,288.91, its Friday low, or extends the slide past 6%.
- The KOSPI after its 20-minute halt, with Samsung and SK Hynix setting the tone for Asian memory stocks.
- The VIX after its jump to 28.09: a second day above 28 would mark a longer stretch of expected swings.
- Any statement from US lawmakers on data-centre regulation, the policy risk behind the selling.
Key points
- Nikkei fell 5.5% early Friday and later slid 6%, entering a bear market more than 20% below its June peak.
- KOSPI plunged 8.52% to 4,924.61 in three minutes, tripping a Level 1 circuit breaker and a 20-minute halt.
- Nasdaq fell 5.52% to 24,315 Thursday, its worst session since April 2025; S&P 500 fell 4.36%, Dow lost 1,833 points.
- Philadelphia Semiconductor Index slumped 12.2%; Micron fell 17.5% and SanDisk 22.3%.
- VIX jumped 11.5 points to 28.09, an eight-month high; about $3 trillion came off S&P 500 companies.
- Samsung fell 10% and SK Hynix 11.7% in Seoul; SoftBank slid 11% and Kioxia 14% in Tokyo.
MarketRadar take
The rout now spans three sessions and two continents. Thursday erased Wednesday's 1,569-point Dow rally in full, and Friday's halt in Seoul shows buyers have not stepped in yet. The October jobs report at 18:30 PKT is the next test. Until the VIX cools below its Friday peak, rallies in chip names face sellers first.
