Asian markets slide as AI stock sell-off spreads from Wall Street
Major Asian indices fell sharply on Friday after Wall Street suffered its steepest declines in months, driven by a sell-off in artificial intelligence and data centre stocks.
Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 6.2% in morning trading, while South Korea's Kospi fell 7.1% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 eased 0.7%. The moves followed a steep fall on Wall Street on Thursday, when the S&P 500 lost 4.4%, its worst day since April 2025. The Nasdaq Composite fell 5.5%, and is now 11.9% below its record high reached last month.
AI-linked companies led the decline. Nvidia dropped 9.3%, while Advanced Micro Devices fell 17.3%. Investors have questioned whether heavy spending on data centres can continue at its current pace, and worried about the high cost of borrowing to fund new projects and whether AI stock valuations had risen too far.
The US midterm election results added to uncertainty for technology investors, as Democratic victories raised concerns that governments could push for limits on new data centre construction. Voters across parties have also voiced worries about AI and rising electricity bills.