Asian Markets Trim Losses as Authorities Step In; Taiwan Ends the Week Down 12.2%

Al Jazeera reported on Friday, November 6, 2026, that the tech-stock rout that began in the United States overnight continued in Asia but that markets cut part of their losses by the close. It said the main driver was fear that the Democrats' win in the US midterm elections would bring tougher scrutiny of artificial intelligence and slow the data-centre build-out. Japan's Nikkei fell about 6%, its biggest one-day drop since April 2025. South Korean and Taiwanese indices plunged more than 8% after the open; trading on South Korea's Kospi was temporarily halted and the finance minister eased rules on retail leveraged investing. Taiwan's market closed down 4.5% and, per LSEG data cited in the report, ended the week 12.2% lower, its biggest weekly decline since 1991. Al Jazeera's correspondent said Chinese state entities also bought equities to steady the market. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fell nearly 6% and 9.4%, and TSMC closed 4.7% lower. Al Jazeera writes that the Nasdaq sank 5.5% overnight and about $3 trillion was wiped off the value of S&P 500 companies.