Asian rout: Kospi plunges 7.4% with trading halt, Nikkei down 5.7%, TSMC limit-down

Asian markets plunged on Friday after the tech selloff on Wall Street. South Korea's Kospi at one point fell 8.55 percent to 4,923.47, below 5,000 for the first time since January, triggering a 20-minute automatic trading halt, Yonhap reports. By midday it was down 7.4 percent and Japan's Nikkei 225 5.7 percent, according to AP.

In Taiwan the Taiex lost a record 3,737.67 points at the open, and TSMC fell to its daily limit of NT$2,020, wiping NT$5.7 trillion off its market value. According to Reuters, SK Hynix lost 11.7 percent, Samsung almost 10, SoftBank 11 and Kioxia 14 percent. Chinese markets fared better: Hang Seng −0.7, Shanghai −1.3 percent.

What triggered the fall

On Wall Street the Nasdaq fell 5.5 percent on November 5 and the S&P 500 4.4 percent, the most since April 2025. Investors fear the new Democratic majority in Congress and local restrictions on data centers will slow AI investment. According to CME FedWatch, markets now see a 68 percent chance of a Fed rate hike in December.

Update, 07:10 UTC

The Kospi closed at 5,059.69, down 6.02 percent, and the Taiex 4.51 percent lower at 39,702. South Korean authorities said they are ready for "additional actions". More in Seoul and Tokyo respond to the rout.