Asian stock futures pointed to steep losses on Friday as a post-election rout in chipmakers deepened on Wall Street, driven by concerns over tighter AI regulation under a Democratic-led Congress. In the US, the S&P 500 plunged 4.4% to its worst performance since April 2025, while the Nasdaq 100 slid 6.4%, wiping out $2.3 trillion in value. A gauge of chip giants tumbled 12%, with Nvidia Corp., Qualcomm Inc., and Arm Holdings Plc among the biggest decliners.
Elon Musk-led Tesla Inc. and SpaceX slid over 9%. Elsewhere, Treasuries and the dollar rose as investors rushed to haven assets, with two-year Treasury yields falling 12 basis points to 4.46%. Gold climbed for a second day, while Bitcoin sank.
A semiconductor gauge has slumped almost 16% this week, on track for its worst weekly performance since April last year. Michael O'Rourke at Jones Trading noted that investors are de-risking until clarity returns. In Asia, Samsung Electronics Co., SK Hynix Inc., and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. bore the brunt of the selloff, while Hong Kong stocks rallied as investors rotated into discounted Chinese internet platforms.
Weekly jobless claims fell below estimates, and investors await Friday's US payrolls report. Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack emphasized rates must remain restrictive to bring inflation to target.
Source: Bloomberg Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing