Asia's stock markets lost more than $1 trillion in value in a single session on Friday, Nov. 6, with several estimates placing the regional decline at roughly $1.2 trillion, as semiconductor shares plunged across South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. South Korea briefly halted trading after the KOSPI fell more than 8% intraday, and Bitcoin traded below $76,000 during the wider sell-off in risk-sensitive assets.

The region's indices recorded different intraday and closing losses. The KOSPI recovered part of its losses to finish 6.02% lower, Japan's Nikkei 225 closed down 5.96%, and Taiwan's TAIEX declined 4.51%. The declines followed a sharp Wall Street retreat on Thursday, Nov. 5, when investors reassessed artificial intelligence infrastructure spending.

Asian Stocks Lose $1.2 Trillion as AI Sell-Off Spreads

The headline figure is above $1 trillion, and several reports put the regional loss closer to $1.2 trillion. Most of the damage came from chip and technology names, the same companies that powered the rally earlier this year. Because semiconductor heavyweights carry outsized weight in these indices, weakness in a handful of chip names can move entire national benchmarks.

Asian stocks were already under pressure before Friday. South Korea's main index sat roughly 45% below its June record, Taiwan was about 24% off its October peak, and Japan was around 21% below its June high. Friday's crash accelerated a correction that was already underway in the Asian stock market rather than starting a fresh one.

Money moved quickly toward safety. Asian investors bought government bonds, and the Japanese yen, Swiss franc and US dollar all drew safe-haven demand. Crypto felt the pressure as well: Bitcoin dropped below $76,000 without any crypto-specific bad news.

Why Japan, South Korea and Taiwan Took the Biggest Losses

These three markets sit at the center of the global semiconductor supply chain, so they had the most to lose when the AI trade cracked. South Korea was hit hardest. The KOSPI plunged more than 8% intraday, tripping a circuit breaker — an automatic trading pause designed to cool panic-driven selling — that halted trading for 20 minutes. SK Hynix, a major supplier of the high-bandwidth memory used in AI computing, fell around 13% at one point, while Samsung Electronics dropped about 10%.

In Taiwan, the TAIEX fell as much as 8% to 9% before buyers stepped in. TSMC slid 8.5% intraday and closed about 4.7% lower, and the index finished the week down 12.2%, its biggest weekly drop since 1991 — the steepest in more than three decades.

Japan's Nikkei 225 fell about 6%, its worst day since April 2025, and sat more than 20% below its June peak, a level that places the benchmark in bear-market territory, conventionally defined as a decline of 20% or more from a recent peak. Advantest lost around 12%, SoftBank Group and Kioxia each fell about 11%, and Tokyo Electron dropped nearly 9%.

China was the calmer corner of the region. The CSI 300 was down about 1.5% by midday, the Shanghai Composite slipped around 1.1%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell less than 2%. State-linked investors appeared to step in, helping mainland shares recover some of their early losses.

Wall Street's Nov. 5 Retreat Set the Sell-Off in Motion

The trigger came from New York on Thursday. The Nasdaq Composite plunged 5.5%, the S&P 500 dropped 4.4% and the Dow lost 3.4%, with more than $3 trillion wiped from S&P 500 companies in one session. The selling reached Asia overnight: Asian stocks tied to AI hardware make the memory chips, processors and testing equipment that US tech giants buy for their data centers.

US Midterm Elections Add Fresh Pressure to AI Stocks

Politics poured fuel on the fire. Democrats made substantial gains in the US midterm elections, and traders quickly priced in tougher scrutiny of AI infrastructure and data center development. Midterm elections fall halfway through a US presidential term and can shift the balance of power in Congress, which is why their outcomes can move policy-sensitive sectors such as technology quickly. The concern is that new rules could slow data center construction, raise electricity and water costs and add compliance spending for technology firms. Any of those would cut into expected chip demand, and that hits the Asian stock market harder than most.

What to Watch After the Sell-Off

US technology shares are the first focus. If Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom stabilize, Asian stocks could recover some of Friday's losses. The chip group comes next, particularly TSMC, SK Hynix, Samsung, Tokyo Electron and Advantest; their moves will show whether investors are dumping the AI trade or merely trimming crowded positions.

For cryptocurrency traders, Bitcoin's reaction matters most. A BTC bounce while equities stay weak would hint at decoupling, while another drop alongside the Nasdaq would confirm that crypto still moves with global liquidity.

This article provides market information, not investment advice. Stock and cryptocurrency prices can move sharply, and past performance does not predict future returns.

This article originally appeared on The Market Periodical.