Asian stock markets suffered a brutal sell-off Friday, with South Korea's benchmark KOSPI index plunging more than 8 percent and triggering a temporary trading halt, according to Reuters. Japan's tech-heavy Nikkei fell roughly 6 percent, putting it on track for its worst day in eight months, while Taiwan's benchmark stock index dropped more than 8 percent as technology and semiconductor companies faced relentless selling pressure.
The carnage overseas followed a historic Wall Street bloodbath Thursday, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 1,833 points, or 3.44 percent, the S&P 500 declined 4.36 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite plunged 5.52 percent, entering correction territory after falling more than 10 percent from its October record high. The tech-focused Nasdaq 100 dropped 6.3 percent, erasing $2.3 trillion in market value, according to NBC News.
At the center of the global rout were the companies that have powered the artificial intelligence boom. South Korean technology giant Samsung Electronics fell nearly 10 percent, while memory chipmaker SK Hynix dropped 11.7 percent. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) declined 8.5 percent, and Japanese technology investor SoftBank Group sank approximately 11 percent.
The trigger, according to multiple outlets, was a combination of fears over the durability of the AI investment boom and the sweeping midterm election victories by Democrats, who seized control of both chambers of Congress. NBC News reported that a "blue wave of victories by anti-AI candidates from Maine to Alaska" added to growing fears about the AI sector, with hundreds of candidates who pledged to rein in AI data centers elected to office. Markets had largely expected Democrats to win majorities, but not the scale of the victories or upset wins like that of Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa in Texas, the largest data center market in the country.
President Donald Trump blamed the Democrats' midterm victories for Thursday's stock market plunge, warning that Americans' retirement savings had suffered losses.
"The Stock Market suffered one of the Worst Days in History based on the results of the Election," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump also expressed confidence that the market would rebound, declaring that the country would soon be "BIGGER AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE."
U.S. stock futures were mixed early Friday, with Nasdaq futures climbing approximately 1.3 percent, signaling a potential rebound for technology stocks following Thursday's steep declines. Dow futures, however, fell 0.71 percent.
In Asia, officials in South Korea and Taiwan signaled they were prepared to support their markets. Business Insider reported that the three countries are home to some of the world's biggest suppliers of the chips, memory, and equipment needed to power the technology that has driven global growth in recent years.
The sell-off wiped out nearly half of the gains in South Korea's KOSPI from its recent peak, and the trading halt was designed to prevent further market volatility, according to Reuters. The broader rout raised questions about the stability of the AI-driven economic expansion and the willingness of newly empowered Democrats to regulate the industry that has been the primary driver of U.S. economic growth.
Since Election Day 2024, the Nasdaq Composite is still up by more than 30 percent, despite recent fears that have sharply driven down chip, memory, and other AI-linked stocks.
Our Take
This is what happens when the radical Left wins elections. Democrats promised to kneecap the AI industry, and the market is already pricing in the damage. Trillions of dollars in retirement savings, 401(k)s, and pensions are evaporating because voters handed control of Congress to politicians who want to regulate, tax, and bureaucratize the most dynamic sector of the American economy.
President Trump warned us. He said the stock market would suffer based on the election results, and he was right. The Nasdaq's 5.52 percent plunge and the $2.3 trillion wipeout in the Nasdaq 100 are not abstract numbers—they are the real cost of electing candidates who campaigned on strangling AI data centers and slowing innovation. The KOSPI's 8 percent drop and trading halt should be a wake-up call for every American with a retirement account.
But here's the good news: President Trump is still in the White House, and he knows how to unleash American prosperity. The same policies that made the pre-election economy strong—deregulation, energy dominance, and America First trade—can rebuild what the Democrats just destroyed. The question is: will the new Congress get out of the way, or will they double down on their war on American innovation? The markets are watching, and so are we.
