Asia Stock Market Continues Bloodbath, US Stocks, Bitcoin Joins

Asian stock markets are deepening their sell-off, with more than $1 trillion in market value wiped out today, after losing over $550 billion yesterday. Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan all faced heavy losses, while Wall Street suffered a $2.5 trillion wipeout. 

The crypto market did not escape the fallout, Bitcoin dropped below $76,000.

Asian Tech Stocks Take a Massive Hit

The Asian stock market sell-off intensified on 6 November as investors dumped technology and AI stocks over fears of US regulatory changes and a slowdown in AI infrastructure spending.

Japan suffered one of the biggest blows, with the Nikkei 225 dropping 6% and entering a bear market. The decline pushed Japan’s losses from its June record to 21%, wiping out roughly $450 billion in value.

South Korea followed with an even sharper move. The KOSPI collapsed 9% to 4,912, triggering a trading halt. The index is now around 47% below its June record, while SK Hynix fell 12% and Samsung Electronics dropped nearly 10%. South Korea has lost close to $203 billion.

China and Taiwan also joined the sell-off. Shenzhen has fallen 30% from its June high, erasing roughly $210 billion. The Shanghai Composite fell 1.1%, while the CSI 300 dropped 1.5%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng fell 1%, while its AI index plunged 4%.

Meanwhile, Taiwan’s TAIEX dropped 3.2% over 24 hours and is now 24% below its October record.

US Stocks Suffer Their Biggest Drop in Months

The weakness across Asia followed Wall Street’s worst single-session decline in more than a year. The S&P 500 fell 4.36% to 7,353.73, while the Nasdaq dropped 6.52% to 24,315, entering correction territory after falling more than 10% from its October peak. The Dow dropped 3.44%.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 10%, while Nvidia, Broadcom, Oracle, CoreWeave and Nebius also suffered heavy losses as investors pulled back from technology stocks.

Bitcoin Falls Below $76,000 as Liquidations Surge

Bitcoin also followed the broader market decline, falling from above $80,800 to around $75,500 to 76,000. A major trigger was the latest US Initial Jobless Claims report. 

Claims unexpectedly fell to 189,000, below the 197,000 forecast and near levels last seen in 1969. While the data signaled a strong US economy, it reduced expectations for easier monetary policy, pressuring Bitcoin and other risk assets.

The sudden price move triggered roughly $1 billion in crypto liquidations, with 88% involving leveraged long positions.

Crypto stocks also suffered, with Coinbase and MicroStrategy falling roughly 10% to 11%.