Asian Stocks Fall on US Tech Jitters, Yuan Weakens: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Asian stocks fell as a selloff in US chipmakers deepened and investors grew reluctant to trade ahead of the US midterm elections. The yuan weakened.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped almost 1%, with South Korea’s tech-heavy Kospi Index sliding almost 4%. The decline came after a gauge of US chipmakers extended a three-day rout, bringing its losses to 12%. The Nasdaq 100 has now declined 10% from its peak, entering a technical correction. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.
Chinese equities fell even after the central bank said it would encourage financial institutions to make greater use of stock-support tools and optimize their terms as authorities seek to bolster market stability.
The yuan ended its longest winning streak in three decades after the People’s Bank of China moved to cool its rally by asking banks to hold more foreign currencies in reserve. The yuan weakened as much as 0.4% to 6.6728 per dollar, halting 13 straight days of gains, which was the longest streak since 1996.
“Markets are mostly in a risk-off mood against the background of increasing AI concerns and the US midterm election,” said Kieran Calder, head of Asia equity research at Union Bancaire Privee. “We have looked at all US midterm elections since 1950 and found that the S&P 500 was higher six months later in each case. If this trend persists, we expect markets should move higher into year-end but it could be a rocky week.”
Korea’s Kospi Index led declines in Asia, with shares of the two chip giants, Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc., both dropping more than 4%.
“Korea’s semiconductor-heavy market is back on the front line of the global AI trade’s repricing,” said Hebe Chen, market analyst at Vantage Global Prime. “The divergence on Wall Street, where tech heavyweights are losing ground even as broader market breadth improves, suggests investors are rotating away from crowded AI trades rather than abandoning equities altogether.”
Brent crude steadied after plunging almost 8% on Monday, as the US and Iran both signaled a willingness to pursue peace talks as the war in the Middle East enters its ninth month.
The global benchmark was near $105 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was below $97 after its biggest decline in three months on Monday. Iran’s president said his government had been granted more authority by the nation’s supreme leader to negotiate, while US President Donald Trump hinted at progress in talks. Still, simmering hostilities are keeping the market on edge.
Apple Inc.’s shares fell in late US trading after the company delivered a mixed outlook in its first quarterly report under Chief Executive Officer John Ternus, with narrower profit margins overshadowing an upbeat sales forecast. Elsewhere, Anthropic PBC disclosed a twelve-fold increase in quarterly revenue while outlining plans to spend more than $895 billion in the coming years.
China Stimulus
China’s CSI 300 Index slipped 0.1% amid skepticism about the latest market support measures from the authorities. The two liquidity-injection tools — a swap facility and relending operations to encourage more stock purchases — reappeared with some adjustments as authorities sought to bolster market stability and confidence.
Chinese shares have been mired in a slump since the summer, weighed down by a weak economy and doubts over AI earnings. Previous attempts to revive the market — including a round of buying by the so-called national team starting July, and regulatory guidance to curb selling last month — have fallen short.
Elsewhere, a Bloomberg gauge of the dollar edged higher, while US Treasury 10-year futures slipped 3/32. There’s no trading of cash Treasuries in Asia due to the holiday in Japan.
Australia’s dollar fell after the central bank raised its key interest rate to an 18-year high, as economists forecast, in a split vote. The Aussie dropped as much as 0.5% to 69.99 US cents.
US job openings data due Tuesday are expected to show that listings edged higher in September, while weekly jobless claims Thursday are seen remaining near historically low levels. Economists expect Friday’s payrolls report to show job growth more than doubled to 65,000 in October, with the unemployment rate holding at 4.2%.”
“It’s going to be an extremely interesting week in the markets,” said Matt Maley at Miller Tabak. “We’ll have political issues to decipher as well as geopolitical ones. And growing doubts about AI investment returns will likely matter much more than historical patterns in determining the market’s direction going forward.”
Corporate Highlights:
Palantir Technologies Inc. gave a forecast for full-year revenue that beat Wall Street’s expectations, buoyed by surging demand for the company’s data analytics tools. Marvell Technology Inc. agreed to buy Lumentum Holdings Inc. at an enterprise value of $115 billion, clinching one of the largest technology deals in history in a push to capitalize on runaway data center spending. Snap Inc. has settled a lawsuit filed by two teenagers who say years of compulsive scrolling and posting on the company’s photo-sharing app contributed to their mental health struggles. Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
S&P 500 futures fell 0.2% as of 2 p.m. Tokyo time Nikkei 225 futures (OSE) fell 1.2% Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3% Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.5% The Shanghai Composite fell 1% Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.9% Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1190 The Japanese yen was little changed at 157.90 per dollar The offshore yuan fell 0.4% to 6.6723 per dollar Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin rose 0.1% to $76,816.42 Ether was little changed at $2,253.3 Bonds
Australia’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 5.09% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.7% to $97.12 a barrel Spot gold fell 0.6% to $3,923.48 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
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