Asian chipmakers sold off hard at the Thursday open, tracking Wednesday’s 3.1% drop in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index on fears that the Democratic midterm sweep brings tighter AI rules and slower data-centre spending. Advantest fell 11.17%, SK Hynix 8.95% and Tokyo Electron 8.92%, while exporters and consumer names such as Fast Retailing, Sony and Toyota rallied.
MoneyTurkey Foreign Markets Desk | 5 November 2026, 06:10 London. Prices as of the 09:30 Shanghai/Hong Kong cash open (01:30 London)
Key points
- Korea’s index took the worst of it: the Korea Exchange triggered a sell-side sidecar on the KOSPI at 10:16 Seoul time (01:16 London) after KOSPI 200 futures fell 5.21%, pausing program selling for five minutes. The KOSPI was at 5,411.49 at our snapshot.
- Chip heavyweights led the slide: Advantest −11.17%, SK Hynix −8.95%, Tokyo Electron −8.92%, Samsung Electronics −6.88%, SoftBank Group −4.99%.
- It was a rotation, not a rout: Fast Retailing +8.27%, Sony +7.40%, Toyota +5.61%, BHP +4.41% and Meituan +4.19%. The yen firmed a touch, with USD/JPY at 158.046.
Wall Street closed sharply higher on Wednesday after the Democratic sweep eased political uncertainty, but data-centre and chip stocks lagged. Asia’s open drew a clear line between the AI supply chain and everything else. Foreign investors were net sellers of about 1.3 trillion won (about $969 million) of Korean shares early in the session, Reuters reported via The Economic Times.
Chip and AI names
- Advantest: down 11.17% to ¥30,710 (about $194)
- SK Hynix: down 8.95% to ₩1,271,000 (about $948)
- Tokyo Electron: down 8.92% to ¥8,801 (about $56)
- Samsung Electronics: down 6.88% to ₩203,000 (about $151)
- SoftBank Group: down 4.99% to ¥4,056 (about $26)
Where money went instead
- Fast Retailing: up 8.27% to ¥83,770 (about $530)
- Sony: up 7.40% to ¥4,224 (about $27)
- Toyota: up 5.61% to ¥3,198 (about $20)
- BHP: up 4.41% to A$58.01 (about $41)
- Meituan: up 4.19% to HK$78.35 (about $10)
Indices at the open
Nikkei 225 61,667.84; KOSPI 5,411.49; Taiwan Weighted 42,043.07; S&P/ASX 200 9,004.40; NZX 50 14,074.45; Hang Seng 24,322.15; Shenzhen Component 11,250.59.
FX
USD/JPY 158.046, down 0.27% from 158.469. USD/CNH 6.6673, down 0.04%. USD/KRW 1,341.19, down 0.13%. AUD/USD 0.7018, up 0.71%. NZD/USD 0.5638, up 0.81%. The Australian and New Zealand dollars led gains against the US dollar.
Why it matters
Korea, Taiwan and Japan’s chip-equipment makers are among the most exposed to AI hardware spending, so when US chip stocks drop on policy risk, Seoul and Tokyo tend to move further. Thursday’s open shows the midterm trade splitting in two: relief for US risk assets overall, and a policy-risk discount on the AI supply chain in Asia.
What to watch
- Whether the KOSPI recovers 5,400 after the sidecar or foreign selling continues through the Seoul close
- Japanese government bond yields and the yen as the Nikkei balances chip losses against gains in exporters and retail
- US chip futures and any comments from Washington on AI export controls or data-centre rules
For information only. Not investment advice.
Sources
- Yahoo Finance (index and stock prices): finance.yahoo.com
- The Korea Herald (KOSPI sidecar): koreaherald.com via Google News
- SBS News (sidecar timing, KOSPI 200 futures): news.sbs.co.kr
- The Economic Times / Reuters (SOX drop, foreign selling): economictimes.indiatimes.com
