{"id":73978,"date":"2026-11-01T21:38:16","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T01:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/apac-markets-retreat-on-wall-street-tech-rout-south-korea-eyes-1-trillion-export-milestone\/73978\/"},"modified":"2026-11-01T21:38:16","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T01:38:16","slug":"apac-markets-retreat-on-wall-street-tech-rout-south-korea-eyes-1-trillion-export-milestone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/apac-markets-retreat-on-wall-street-tech-rout-south-korea-eyes-1-trillion-export-milestone\/73978\/","title":{"rendered":"APAC Markets Retreat on Wall Street Tech Rout; South Korea Eyes $1 Trillion Export Milestone"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Asia-Pacific equities opened lower<\/strong> following a <strong>2.86% drop in the Nasdaq<\/strong> and a <strong>7.2% plunge in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index<\/strong> on Friday, driven by disappointing tech earnings.<\/li>\n<li><strong>South Korea&#39;s export engine surged 93.7% in October<\/strong>, putting the nation on track to surpass <strong>$1 trillion in annual exports<\/strong> by mid-November\u2014a feat previously achieved only by the US, China, and Germany.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/energy\/crude-oil\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"12\" title=\"Crude oil\">Oil prices<\/a> retreated<\/strong> as Brent crude fell toward <strong>$111 per barrel<\/strong> amid renewed diplomatic efforts involving the US, Qatar, and Iran to de-escalate Middle East hostilities.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The People\u2019s Bank of China (PBOC)<\/strong> signaled its stance on currency appreciation by setting the <strong>Yuan midpoint at 6.7146 per dollar<\/strong>, a multi-year high for the renminbi.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Market Sentiment Dampened by Wall Street Tech Sell-off<\/h2>\n<p>Asian equity markets faced significant downward pressure at Monday&#39;s open, tracking a sharp <strong>technology-led decline on Wall Street<\/strong>. Investors reacted to weak quarterly results from US tech giants, which reignited concerns over the high capital expenditure required for <strong>Artificial Intelligence (AI)<\/strong> infrastructure relative to immediate returns. The <strong>Nasdaq Composite<\/strong> suffered its worst drop since June, falling nearly <strong>3%<\/strong> on Friday, while the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/indices\/sp500\/today\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"snp500 today\">S&amp;P 500<\/a><\/strong> also ended in the red.<\/p>\n<p>In Tokyo, the <strong>Nikkei 225<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/NI225\">NI225<\/a>) initially tracked global losses but showed resilience, <strong>edging up 0.04%<\/strong> in early trade as investors weighed the <strong>Bank of Japan&#39;s (BOJ)<\/strong> recent decision to maintain rates at <strong>1.25%<\/strong>. However, semiconductor heavyweights like <strong>Tokyo Electron<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/8035\">8035<\/a>) and <strong>Advantest<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/6857\">6857<\/a>) remained under pressure following the global rout in chip stocks.<\/p>\n<h2>South Korea\u2019s &quot;Growth for All&quot; Strategy and $1 Trillion Export Target<\/h2>\n<p>South Korean President <strong>Lee Jae-myung<\/strong> delivered a pivotal address to the National Assembly, positioning the newly established <strong>Future Response Fund<\/strong> as a <strong>162.3 trillion won ($121 billion)<\/strong> strategic investment tool. The fund, financed by a tax windfall from the semiconductor boom, is designed to counter <strong>rising inequality<\/strong> and support &quot;growth for all&quot; by investing in youth, regional development, and future growth engines.<\/p>\n<p>The President\u2019s optimistic fiscal outlook is supported by record-breaking trade data. South Korea\u2019s exports reached <strong>$115.28 billion in October<\/strong>, a <strong>93.7% year-on-year increase<\/strong>, driven by a <strong>259.4% surge in semiconductor shipments<\/strong>. Cumulative exports for 2026 have already reached <strong>$930 billion<\/strong>, making the <strong>$1 trillion annual target<\/strong> highly achievable within the next few weeks. Key players like <strong>Samsung Electronics<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/005930\">005930<\/a>) and <strong>SK Hynix<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/000660\">000660<\/a>) continue to benefit from global AI demand despite broader market volatility.<\/p>\n<h2>Energy and Currency: Diplomacy and Policy Signals<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Crude oil prices<\/strong> saw a notable decline as diplomatic channels between the US and Iran appeared to reopen. Reports of a letter from US Vice President <strong>JD Vance<\/strong> to Iranian officials regarding peace negotiations helped ease supply disruption fears. <strong>Brent crude<\/strong> futures fell over <strong>1% to $114.05<\/strong>, while <strong>West Texas Intermediate (WTI)<\/strong> dropped to approximately <strong>$101.27<\/strong>. However, market participants remain cautious ahead of the <strong>US midterm elections<\/strong> on November 3, which could shift the geopolitical landscape.<\/p>\n<p>In the currency markets, the <strong>People\u2019s Bank of China (PBOC)<\/strong> set the <strong>Yuan midpoint at 6.7146 per dollar<\/strong>. While this represents the strongest level for the renminbi in over three years, it was slightly weaker than some market estimates. Analysts interpret this as a deliberate move by Beijing to <strong>manage the pace of appreciation<\/strong> and maintain export competitiveness while the US dollar experiences volatility ahead of the election.<\/p>\n<h2>Credit Outlook and Regional Stability<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Fitch Ratings<\/strong> released a report on <strong>Asia-Pacific tower operators<\/strong>, noting that credit profiles remain stable but vary based on <strong>leverage and market standing<\/strong>. The agency highlighted that while mission-critical assets provide a safety net, operators in markets like <strong>Indonesia<\/strong> face constraints due to country-specific credit ceilings.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, regional tensions persist as <strong>U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM)<\/strong> issued a statement refuting claims by Iran&#39;s foreign minister regarding civilian attacks. The agency alleged that Iran has &quot;deliberately attacked civilian mariners at sea,&quot; contributing to a complex risk environment for global shipping and trade as the week begins.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Asia-Pacific equities opened lower following a 2.86% drop in the Nasdaq and a 7.2% plunge in the Philadelphia [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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