Asian Markets Crash as AI Sell-Off Spreads: Nikkei and KOSPI Plunge 6%
Nikkei and KOSPI fell about 6% and Taiwan 4.5% as the AI sell-off hit Asian Markets. What triggered it, and whether the AI bubble is bursting.
Asian stock markets crashed on Friday, November 6, as a sell-off in AI-linked shares that wiped roughly $2.5 trillion off US stocks a day earlier spread across the region. Japan’s Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s KOSPI each closed about 6% lower, and Taiwan’s Taiex fell 4.5% after plunging around 9% in morning trading.
Investors dumped chipmakers and AI infrastructure stocks on fears that Democratic gains in Tuesday’s US midterm elections could slow the construction of data centers, CNN reported. Social media posts are calling it the moment the AI bubble bursts. The evidence so far does not support such a firm verdict.
How Asian markets closed
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| South Korea KOSPI | 5,059.69 | -6.02% |
| Japan Nikkei 225 | 57,434.77 | -5.96% |
| Taiwan Taiex | 39,701.64 | -4.51% |
| Shanghai Composite | n/a | about -1.1% |
| Hong Kong Hang Seng | n/a | about -1% to -1.5% |
The KOSPI fell as much as 8.8% during the session, which triggered a trading halt and briefly pushed it below 5,000, according to Bloomberg. The Nikkei entered a bear market, now more than 20% below its June record. Nikkei Asia described the morning drop in Taiwan’s market as its steepest ever, before the index recovered part of the loss by the close. Mainland Chinese shares fell less, though tech-heavy Shenzhen dropped about 2.6%.
🩸 HUGE MARKET CRASH ON ASIAN MARKETSJapanese, Taiwanese, Korean, and Chinese markets are dumping🇰🇷 South Korea’s KOSPI fell -6%, wiping out ₩305 TRILLION ($203 billion)🇯🇵 Japan’s Nikkei dropped -6%, erasing ¥70 TRILLION ($450 billion)🇨🇳 China’s SSE fell -1.5%, wiping out CN¥1.47 TRILLION ($210 billion)🇹🇼 Taiwan’s stock market plunged -5%, erasing NT$5.73 TRILLION ($182 billion)The South Korean stock market reached its 9-month low, NIKKEI dropped -20% from ATHAI-related stocks and companies are dumping right nowLooks like the AI bubble is bursting…
— ᴛʀᴀᴄᴇʀ (@DeFiTracer) November 6, 2026
Why the Asian markets crash happened
The trigger came from Wall Street on Thursday. The Dow lost 1,833 points, or 3.44%, to 51,523, the S&P 500 fell 4.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 5.5%, its worst day since April 2025. The Nasdaq 100 sank 6.4%, its worst day since March 2020.
Nvidia fell about 9%, which erased its gains for the year, and Qualcomm dropped more than 9% after a weak earnings forecast. Data center operators such as IREN, Applied Digital and Nebius each fell more than 14%, according to Fox Business. Power and cooling suppliers Vistra and Vertiv slid on worries about pauses in data center construction.
Analysts link the move to the midterm results. Some investors fear that Democratic lawmakers and governors could slow data center projects, in part over electricity prices, which would mean fewer purchases of AI chips. The sell-off came one day after US stocks had rallied on the election outcome. The stakes are high, as AI spending is driving much of the US economy’s recent growth.
Why Asia was hit so hard
Asia supplies much of the hardware behind the AI boom. South Korea’s memory chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, Taiwan’s chip manufacturers and Japan’s chip equipment makers all rose sharply on AI demand this year, so profit-taking hit them first. One analyst told CNN that South Korea’s tech-heavy market is especially exposed to swings in sentiment and could see more volatility before confidence settles. He still expects demand for computing power and memory chips to keep growing. Officials in South Korea and Japan acknowledged the volatility on Friday.
How much value was lost
Estimates circulating online put Friday’s losses at about $203 billion in South Korea and $450 billion in Japan, with Taiwan and China losing a further $182 billion and $210 billion. Coinpedia reported that Asian markets lost more than $1 trillion on Friday after about $550 billion on Thursday. These figures are rough, move with prices, and depend on how they are calculated.
Is the AI bubble bursting?
It is too early to say. Two days of heavy selling do not prove a bubble has burst. Some analysts argue that political pushback could let some air out of an overheated sector without popping it, while others expect more swings as funds lock in this year’s gains. Chip makers still report strong demand, and the main risk is that building slows, not that customers disappear. The next few weeks of earnings, power policy and spending plans will show which view is right.
Crypto traders felt the shock as well. Coinpedia reported that Bitcoin slid toward $76,000 as risk assets sold off. For more on how fast the AI sector is changing, see our reports on OpenAI’s DevDay agents and Google DeepMind’s Genie 4.
What to watch next
- Whether US tech stocks steady or fall further when Wall Street opens on Friday.
- Any statements from US governors and lawmakers on data center permits and power use.
- Whether Asian markets rebound or slide again when they reopen on Monday.
- Spending updates from the big AI companies, which would show whether data center plans are changing.
This article is for information only and is not investment advice. Market data changes quickly.
