{"id":74235,"date":"2026-11-05T21:38:20","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T01:38:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/asian-markets-plunge-as-ai-fears-and-geopolitical-tensions-mount\/74235\/"},"modified":"2026-11-05T21:38:20","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T01:38:20","slug":"asian-markets-plunge-as-ai-fears-and-geopolitical-tensions-mount","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/asian-markets-plunge-as-ai-fears-and-geopolitical-tensions-mount\/74235\/","title":{"rendered":"Asian Markets Plunge as AI Fears and Geopolitical Tensions Mount"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>South Korean and Taiwanese markets plummeted over 6-8%<\/strong> at the open, triggered by a massive tech sell-off in the U.S. following midterm election results.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Taiwan\u2019s National Stabilization Fund<\/strong> is on high alert and may call an extraordinary meeting to implement market-support measures if &quot;disorderly&quot; trading continues.<\/li>\n<li><strong>China\u2019s STAR and ChiNext AI indices<\/strong> are poised for a sharp <strong>6% drop<\/strong>, extending a correction that has already wiped out nearly <strong>$480 billion<\/strong> in market value.<\/li>\n<li><strong>SoftBank Group (<a href=\"\/stock\/SFTBY\">SFTBY<\/a>)<\/strong> credit default swaps (CDS) surged <strong>22 bps to 466 bps<\/strong>, the highest level since 2022, signaling rising investor anxiety over AI-related debt.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Geopolitical uncertainty<\/strong> increased as Iran delivered a nuclear proposal to Washington via Qatar, contingent on the U.S. meeting <strong>seven specific demands<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr>\n<h2>Tech Rout Grips Asian Bourses<\/h2>\n<p>Equity markets across East Asia faced intense selling pressure on Friday morning as fears over the future of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure intensified. The South Korean <strong>KOSPI<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/%5EKS11\">^KS11<\/a>) tumbled as much as <strong>8.55%<\/strong> shortly after the open, triggering a <strong>20-minute circuit breaker<\/strong> as investors reacted to U.S. midterm election results. Analysts suggest a Democratic sweep in Congress has stoked fears of tighter regulations on data centers, potentially slowing the build-out of AI infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p>In Taiwan, the benchmark <strong>TAIEX<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/%5ETWII\">^TWII<\/a>) slid more than <strong>6%<\/strong>, led by heavy losses in the semiconductor sector. <strong>Taiwan Deputy Finance Minister<\/strong> announced that the <strong>National Stabilization Fund<\/strong> is monitoring conditions closely and could convene an extraordinary meeting to stabilize the market if confidence collapses. Despite the equity rout, Taiwan&#39;s overnight interbank borrowing rate remained steady at <strong>0.805%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2>China Injects Liquidity Amid AI Slump<\/h2>\n<p>The <strong>People&#39;s Bank of China (PBOC)<\/strong> moved to support the banking system by injecting <strong>226 billion yuan<\/strong> through overnight reverse repos at a fixed rate of <strong>1.25%<\/strong>. This comes as the tech-heavy <strong>STAR 50<\/strong> and <strong>ChiNext<\/strong> indices prepared for a <strong>6% opening drop<\/strong>. The Chinese AI sector has been under significant duress, with recent reports indicating a <strong>40% decline<\/strong> in major tech gauges over the last four months due to overvaluation concerns and export restrictions.<\/p>\n<h2>Corporate and Regulatory Developments<\/h2>\n<p><strong>SoftBank Group (<a href=\"\/stock\/SFTBY\">SFTBY<\/a>)<\/strong> saw its 5-year credit default swaps widen to <strong>466 bps<\/strong>, reflecting growing skepticism regarding the company&#39;s heavily leveraged AI investments and borrowing costs. Meanwhile, <strong>MSCI<\/strong> Chairman emphasized that South Korea must fully implement its ongoing regulatory reforms to achieve a <strong>Developed Market reclassification<\/strong>, noting that current measures have not yet sufficiently addressed accessibility barriers for global institutional investors.<\/p>\n<p>In the banking sector, the <strong>Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ)<\/strong> filed charges against <strong>Westpac New Zealand Limited (<a href=\"\/stock\/WBC\">WBC<\/a>)<\/strong> over an alleged disclosure breach related to the <strong>Depositor Compensation Scheme (DCS)<\/strong>. The RBNZ claims Westpac failed to provide accurate information regarding its Custodian PIE product on its website for over 100 days.<\/p>\n<h2>Geopolitical Shifts<\/h2>\n<p>On the geopolitical front, <strong>Iran<\/strong> has reportedly delivered a new nuclear proposal to Washington through Qatari mediators. A senior Iranian official stated that while the U.S. is reviewing the document, Tehran will only engage in formal discussions once Washington satisfies <strong>seven demands<\/strong>. This development adds a layer of complexity to an already volatile global market environment, as energy prices remain sensitive to tensions in the Middle East.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways South Korean and Taiwanese markets plummeted over 6-8% at the open, triggered by a massive tech sell-off in [&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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