Hang Seng AI Index Falls 7% as Tech Sell-Off Spreads from U.S. to Asia

Key Facts

The Hang Seng AI Index fell about 7% in early trading on Friday, November 6, while the broader Hang Seng Index dropped 1.6%, according to a Reuters report published via Devdiscourse. The moves came amid a sell-off that spread from U.S. technology stocks to Asian markets, as investor concerns grew over tighter AI regulation and slower sector growth. In China, the CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes each fell 1.5% at the start of the session. The STAR 50 and AI indexes also dropped more than 5% at the open before paring some losses. In a midday snapshot reported by the Associated Press, the Hang Seng was down 0.7% at 24,630.03 points, a later reading that differs from early-morning trading.

Pressure extended across regional markets, with indexes in Japan, South Korea and Australia falling around midday Friday. The Nikkei 225 dropped 5.7% to 57,576.63 points after recovering some of its initial losses, according to the Associated Press. South Korea’s Kospi fell 7.4% to 4,985.99 points, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 1.0% to 8,973.00 points. These levels were recorded later in the session than the early-trading figures cited in other reports, so they describe a midday snapshot. The Hang Seng had closed Thursday at 24,796.98 points, according to EL7 data, before falling in Friday trading.

The Asian sell-off followed sharp losses on Wall Street on Thursday, November 5. The S&P 500 lost about 4.4%, its worst daily performance since the tariff turmoil in April 2025, while the Dow Jones fell 1,833 points, or 3.4%. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 5.5% and, according to the Associated Press report, was 11.9% below its record high set the previous month; the report described the decline as a correction because the loss exceeded the 10% threshold. Losses in chip and AI infrastructure stocks show how broadly the retreat has spread within the sector: Nvidia fell 9.3% and AMD dropped 17.3% in Thursday’s session. CoreWeave also declined 9.8% and GE Vernova fell 7.5% in the same session, according to the Associated Press.

Reuters attributed the sell-off to concerns about tighter AI regulation and a slowdown in the sector, after Nasdaq losses renewed attention to regulatory scrutiny following Democratic gains in the U.S. midterm elections. The Associated Press said the Democratic gains raised the prospect that governments could impose a pause on new data-center construction. Slower construction could mean lower demand for AI chips, electricity and other products and services tied to those facilities, putting spending forecasts under investor scrutiny. The agency said AI stocks have been volatile for months amid concerns that higher borrowing costs could slow data-center construction. It added that critics believe AI stock prices have risen too far and have described the market as a bubble.

Thursday’s losses reflect growing sensitivity to companies linked to the AI boom, from chipmakers to data-center operators and electricity suppliers. AMD’s 17.3% drop was larger than Nvidia’s 9.3% decline, while data-center operator CoreWeave fell 9.8% and power-related GE Vernova dropped 7.5%. These moves placed companies at different stages of the infrastructure investment chain in the same sell-off. The concerns connect borrowing costs, the pace of construction and expected demand for chips and power. The prospect of a construction pause cited by the Associated Press, however, was presented as a possibility raised by the election results, not as an effective government measure.

In the broader context of risks monitored by markets, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said, "The best thing that could happen is for the conflict in the Middle East to be resolved; there is no doubt about that," during a bank press conference on the war’s impact on oil and inflation and on upcoming interest-rate decisions, according to the Associated Press. The remark links developments in the conflict with energy prices and the inflation path, factors that enter monetary-policy discussions. It appeared in the Associated Press report on markets on a day marked by broad technology-stock losses, alongside developments concerning financing costs and data centers. Asian markets continued trading on Friday against the backdrop of the U.S. decline and sector concerns. The Associated Press reported midday levels for regional indexes, while U.S. session data and regulatory risks remained part of the backdrop to investor moves.