On Friday (6 November, 9:20 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), major indices in the Asia-Pacific recorded significant declines, mirroring the downturn seen on Wall Street, where a sharp retreat in technology stocks drove losses.
The downturn was particularly pronounced among artificial intelligence-related shares, as investor caution intensified following results from the U.S. midterm elections that delivered major victories for the Democratic Party.
Market participants grew increasingly concerned that a unified Democratic government could slow the expansion of data center infrastructure, a space already facing scrutiny over capital expenditure, margins, and leverage.
Wall Street’s session on Thursday ended with the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq Composite all suffering their steepest single-day drops since April 2025, according to FactSet.
U.S. President Donald Trump, in a statement on Thursday, attributed the equities sell-off to the outcome of the midterm elections, characterizing it as one of the worst trading days in the market’s history.
Investors are now focusing on Friday’s upcoming U.S. labor market data. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is set to publish its October nonfarm payrolls report, with consensus expectations calling for an increase of 59,000 jobs—a rebound from September’s 29,000—and an unemployment rate unchanged at 4.2%.
Notably, the Federal Reserve maintains that employment trends remain healthy, though policymakers continue to monitor risks and uncertainties. Market pricing currently assigns a roughly 70% probability to a 25-basis-point interest rate hike at the central bank’s next policy meeting on December 9, according to data from the CME FedWatch Tool.
Japan’s NIKKEI slumped by 5.81% to 57,530.02. South Korea’s KOSPI plummeted by 5.76% to 5,073.68, and Australia’s ASX 200 declined by 1.00% to 8,974.10.
Shanghai’s SSEC dropped by 1.29% to 3,642.19. Shenzhen’s SZI contracted by 1.93% to 11,250.30, and Hong Kong’s HSI dipped by 0.63% to 24,641.09.
The U.S. stock markets exhibited a downward trend on Thursday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 3.44% to 51,523.06. NASDAQ plunged by 5.52% to 24,314.99, and the S&P 500 decreased by 4.36% to 7,353.73. VIX soared by 69.66% to 28.18.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Thursday after fresh assaults on shipping vessels heightened concerns regarding energy supply security. Brent crude concluded the session $3.67 higher, marking a 3.88% increase to settle at $98.29 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained $2.40, or 2.72%, to reach $90.52 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures surged $1.19, or 1.21%, to $99.48 per barrel, and WTI futures advanced 80 cents, or 0.88%, to $91.32 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures fell by 0.89% to $4,076.70 per troy ounce.
