Global AI sell-off sinks Nikkei 6% and halts Kospi, but India’s Sensex rises
Investors fear tighter US data-centre rules after the midterms, but India's market rose on its low exposure to AI stocks.
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A global AI sell-off sent Japan’s Nikkei down nearly 6% on Friday, 6 November 2026, and briefly halted trading in South Korea, a day after the worst session for US chip stocks since 2020. Investors fear tighter US rules on data centres will slow the artificial intelligence build-out. India was the exception: the Sensex rose for a second day.
How the AI sell-off spread from Wall street to asia
On Thursday the Nasdaq Composite fell 5.5%, its steepest drop since the April 2025 tariff sell-off, and the Philadelphia semiconductor index slid 12.2%, WION reported. About $3 trillion was wiped off S&P 500 companies.
Asia followed on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei closed down 5.96% at 57,435, its fifth straight fall and its worst week since 2020. South Korea’s Kospi dropped more than 8% at the open, setting off a 20-minute circuit breaker. Taiwan fell more than 8% at one point. Samsung Electronics lost nearly 10%, SK Hynix about 12% and SoftBank 11%.
Key numbers
- 12.2%: Thursday’s fall in the Philadelphia chip index, its worst day since 2020 (24/7 Wall St).
- $2.5 trillion: value lost by Nasdaq 100 companies in one session.
- 3,643 points: the Nikkei’s fall on Friday.
- 28.18: the VIX volatility index, its biggest jump since April 2025.
- 1,025 points: the Sensex’s gain by early Friday afternoon.
Background: Nasdaq losses and data centre votes in the US midterms
The trigger was Tuesday’s US midterm elections. Democrats won both the House and the Senate, and investors expect the new Congress to bring tougher oversight of data-centre building. Local ballots added to the worry. Voters in 10 states decided 41 data-centre measures, nearly all against the industry, and at least 14 municipalities passed bans or severe limits, according to Ballotpedia and CNBC figures cited by WION.
The fear for chipmakers is simple: fewer data centres mean fewer orders for the processors and memory that fill them.
Why the Sensex rose
Indian shares held up because the market has almost no exposure to AI and semiconductor stocks. The Sensex climbed to 80,335 and the Nifty neared 24,745 by early afternoon, after jumping 2.6% and 2.4% on Thursday. IT services shares gained 1% to 2%, and Mahindra and Mahindra rose about 5%.
What happens next
US chip stocks bounced on Friday morning, with AMD up 8% and Nvidia up 5%, but the concerns over data-centre rules remain unresolved. Brent crude near $100 a barrel and gold near $4,100 an ounce show investors still looking for safety. More markets coverage is in our Business and Economy section.
Chipmakers in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan have ridden the global AI building boom, so any slowdown in US data-centre construction hits their earnings and the wider Asian markets. India's low exposure to AI hardware shielded it this time, and some investors may shift money towards Indian shares if the rout continues.