Nasdaq's 5.5% drop spreads: Nikkei and Kospi fall 6%, Taiwan 4.5%, Europe down about 2%

A sell-off in US technology stocks on Thursday, Nov. 5 has carried into Asia and Europe. The Nasdaq Composite fell 5.5% and, according to the BBC and CNN, about $2.5 trillion of US market value disappeared. On Friday Japan's Nikkei 225 and South Korea's Kospi each closed down about 6%, and European indexes opened and traded lower.

The moves, index by index

We calculated these from daily closes in Yahoo Finance's index data, pulled this morning. Asian figures are closes. US figures are Thursday's closes. European figures are intraday as of about 7:50 a.m. ET and will change.

Index	Latest level	Move	Basis
Nasdaq Composite	24,315	-5.5%	Close, Nov. 5
S&P 500	7,354	-4.4%	Close, Nov. 5
Dow Jones Industrial Average	51,523	-3.4%	Close, Nov. 5
Nvidia	$181.60	-9.3%	Close, Nov. 5
Nikkei 225	57,435	-6.0%	Close, Nov. 6
Kospi	5,060	-6.0%	Close, Nov. 6
Taiex	39,702	-4.5%	Close, Nov. 6
Hang Seng	24,482	-1.3%	Close, Nov. 6
Stoxx 600	643.7	-1.7%	Intraday
FTSE 100	10,562	-2.0%	Intraday
DAX	25,717	-2.3%	Intraday
CAC 40	8,063	-1.7%	Intraday

Early reports were milder than this table. CNN had the Stoxx 600 down 1.1% shortly after 5 a.m. ET, and the BBC had the FTSE down 1.6% at its open. The European selling grew as the morning went on.

What set it off, and what is not yet known

The trigger was politics colliding with an already nervous AI trade. Democrats won both chambers of Congress on Nov. 3 (our results story). The BBC reports that Democratic candidates had run against the data centers AI depends on, and that Sen. Bernie Sanders posted "NATIONAL DATA CENTER MORATORIUM NOW" on X. CNN says backlash over data centers' environmental and community impact had become an election issue. The worry, in both accounts, is that a Democratic Congress could stymie AI investment.

The second worry is older. AJ Bell analyst Dan Coatsworth told the BBC investors have "no clear idea of when, or whether, there will be payback" on the spending. A Hong Kong analyst, Theodore Shou of Yiyi Capital, told CNN there was "too much of a hype earlier this year."

Two cautions. First, no new law or moratorium exists. These are investors' reactions to election results, and we found no bill or official action behind the move. Second, the "slowdown" is a fear, not a data point. Analysts quoted by CNN expect demand for computing power and memory chips to keep growing. President Trump blamed Democrats on social media, writing that the market had "one of the Worst Days in History," according to the BBC; the Nasdaq's loss was its biggest since April 2025, per CNN, so that comparison is the outlets' and not ours.

Why Asia fell harder than Europe

Asia's big indexes are heavy with chip and memory makers. The BBC says Kioxia and Tokyo Electron fell sharply in Tokyo, and SK Hynix dropped more than 10% in Seoul. It also reports the Kospi was down more than 8% at one point and hit a circuit breaker before closing down 6%; we saw that from one outlet only. Europe holds fewer tech stocks, which the BBC gives as the reason its losses were smaller. Shou told CNN that Asian tech is now more closely tied to US peers than ever.

Governments noticed. Japan's prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, said she was aware share prices, "particularly those of AI and chip sectors," were falling sharply and that the government was watching closely. South Korea's finance minister, Lee Hyoung-il, held a meeting and officials said a global market impact "cannot be ruled out," promising steps to prevent overreaction in Korean stocks (CNN).

Futures were mixed early Friday, per CNN: S&P 500 futures up 0.3%, Nasdaq futures up 1.4%, Dow futures down 0.8%, and Nvidia up about 4% premarket. The Dow is more than 3% below Wednesday's close, so a bounce would not undo the damage.

How this fits what we have been tracking

This did not come from nowhere. Alphabet had its worst day on record on Oct. 29 after free cash flow turned negative on $51.4 billion of quarterly capital spending. Meta then filed for up to $25 billion in bonds to fund AI spending. Texas had already paused data center permits in September. The Nasdaq Composite closed Nov. 5 at 24,315, which our chart shows is 11.9% below its Oct. 6 closing high, past the 10% line that defines a correction. It is still higher than a year ago, the BBC notes.

What business owners should watch

• Credit spreads and bond deals. AI builders fund themselves with debt. If Meta's offering or other tech issuers price wider, borrowing costs for everyone else can follow.
• Electricians, HVAC and trade contractors near data center projects. Their backlog depends on projects that now face political and financing risk. Check which jobs have signed contracts and which have only letters of intent.
• Owners with retirement or equity-based compensation. A 5% drop in one day moves 401(k) balances and the paper wealth behind spending in tech-heavy cities.
• Importers and exporters in Asia trade. Currency swings often follow equity routs. Watch any forward contracts and supplier payment dates.
• Today's follow-through. Whether the US opens higher or lower, the next question is whether Congress or states move on data centers, and whether another big AI spender cuts capital spending.

Sources: BBC via Yahoo Finance; CNN via Yahoo Finance Australia; Yahoo Finance index price data, retrieved Nov. 6, 2026; Chronicle reporting. Percent moves are our calculations from closing levels; European figures are intraday. This is market information, not investment advice.