Asia Stocks Fall 1.4% as Korea and Taiwan Slide Sharply, Tech Concerns Weigh
Key Facts
Asia-Pacific stocks fell in the Nov. 3 session, with the region-wide gauge excluding Japan down 1.4% to its lowest level since Oct. 23, according to Reuters. Korean shares led losses, falling as much as 4.1%, while Taiwanese stocks dropped 3.3%. Asian technology stocks came under pressure as investors worried about the scale of artificial-intelligence spending and whether earnings could keep pace, Reuters reported. The agency said technology stocks "came under fresh pressure on Tuesday as investors worried about AI spending and earnings." Markets moved in different directions across the region, with Australian shares rising while markets in China, Korea and Taiwan fell.
The Taiwanese index’s losses extended to 13.1% from its record peak in early October, putting it on track to confirm a technical correction, according to a Reuters report. In Korea and Taiwan, equity outflows were concentrated as concerns grew about the sustainability of the technology cycle, according to a Bank of America analysts’ note cited by the agency. Chinese stocks fell 1.4%, as investors were disappointed by the authorities’ latest moves to support the market. Reuters described the Chinese market as the worst-performing among major indexes this year. By contrast, Australian shares rose 0.3% after the Reserve Bank of Australia raised its cash rate target in a split 6-3 vote, while signaling the possibility of keeping rates steady for a period.
Pressure extended to global markets after the S&P 500 fell 0.5% in the previous U.S. session, according to Reuters. Apple shares also lost 2.8% in after-hours trading on Monday after the company forecast lower gross margins for the holiday quarter. In Asian trading, the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasuries rose 2.1 basis points to 4.913%. In cryptocurrencies, Reuters reported that bitcoin rose 0.1% to $76,822.21 during Asian trading on Nov. 3. EL7 data show bitcoin closing at $76,816 on Nov. 2 and $77,632 on Nov. 3, while gold closed at $3,969.6 and $3,946.7 on the two days, respectively.
The Bank of England meeting scheduled for Nov. 5 remained a near-term focus for markets, with the bank set to publish the Monetary Policy Committee summary, meeting minutes and Monetary Policy Report, according to the official calendar. At its September decision, the committee held interest rates at 3.75% by a 6-3 majority. The three dissenting members voted to raise rates by 0.25 percentage points to 4%. EL7’s calendar records the decision at 3.75% on Sept. 17, unchanged from the previous decision. The official date listed on the bank’s page does not describe the release as an "Inflation Report"; it specifies publication of the Monetary Policy Report alongside the summary and minutes.
The Bank of England’s Decision Maker Panel survey showed companies’ expectations for consumer price inflation over the coming year rising to 3.3% in the three months to October, from 3.1% in the three months to September. The survey was conducted between Oct. 2 and 16 and received 1,945 responses, according to the bank. Some 68% of companies also expected to raise prices in October, up 11 percentage points from September, while 71% expected their profit margins to fall. Actual annual employment growth was -0.5% in the three months to October, while companies’ expectations for employment growth over the coming year remained at 0.2%. The bank set Dec. 4, 2026, as the date for publication of the next survey data.
In the background to its September decision, the Bank of England said U.K. consumer price inflation rose to 3.1% in August and was likely to continue rising over the following quarters. The committee linked this path to the energy shock and warned that continued increases in energy prices or greater volatility would heighten the risk of their passing through to prices and wages via second-round inflationary effects. The committee said the risk of these effects "increases the longer energy prices remain elevated or the more volatile they become." On the U.S. calendar, investors were watching the midterm elections and the Treasury Department’s quarterly refunding announcement. Reuters said markets would have indications by the following day about the implications of the elections and the refunding announcement.