Asian markets fall after technology stock selloff driven by artificial intelligence fears

Asian stock markets opened lower on November 2, 2026, following sharp declines among American technology companies. Bloomberg and SWI swissinfo.ch both report that concern over the artificial intelligence rally spurred the selloff in technology shares. Oil prices also dropped alongside the fall in equities. [1][5]

Benchmark stock indexes in Japan, South Korea, and Australia all declined from the market open, according to Bloomberg. The drops followed Friday losses on Wall Street, where the Nasdaq 100 fell 3.5 percent in its worst single-day loss since June. Futures contracts for United States equities edged slightly higher in early Asian trading, signaling that the drop might be easing. [1]

The Wall Street selloff hit major indices and semiconductor firms hard, Bloomberg reported. The S&P 500 dropped 1.8 percent, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index slumped 7.2 percent. Intel Corporation suffered its steepest single-day loss in more than 40 years. SADA News reported that the decline in Wall Street technology stocks caused losses of 5.1 billion shekels in Israeli savings accounts. [1][4]

The Wall Street Journal reported that technology shares fell due to concerns regarding spending on artificial intelligence technology. Aggregated coverage from Yahoo Finance noted that investors on Wall Street are preparing for further market volatility. Dominant technology companies, often called Big Tech, make up about a quarter of the total market capitalization of the S&P 500 index. [2][3][6]

The market downturn follows a period of growth for regional equities. As FTMQ Business reported earlier, Asian stock markets had previously gained on optimism surrounding artificial intelligence and solid technology sector earnings. Investors are watching early market trading to assess if the selloff will spread further across global equity markets. [1][9]