{"id":142679,"title":"What happened overnight – Friday 6th November 2026","publisher":"Share Talk","author":"sharetalk","published":"2026-11-06T09:00:36+00:00","modified":"2026-11-06T09:00:36+00:00","canonical_url":"https://www.share-talk.com/what-happened-overnight-friday-6th-november-2026/","markdown_url":"https://www.share-talk.com/what-happened-overnight-friday-6th-november-2026.md","json_url":"https://www.share-talk.com/what-happened-overnight-friday-6th-november-2026.json","category":"B2B","categories":["B2B","Blogs","Technology","Technology, Media & Telecoms"],"tags":["Asia","Bangkok","Denmark","Endeavour Mining","Fed","Federal Reserve","Finland","FRANCE","FTSE 100","GERMANY","Glencore","Greenland plan","Hong kong","Japan","London","Manila","mining stocks","Mumbai","Nasdaq Composite","NATO alliance","Netherlands","Nikkei 225","Norway","S&P 500","shanghai","Singapore","Sweden","Sydney","Taiwan","UK","United States","Wall Street","Wellington"],"featured_image":"https://i0.wp.com/www.share-talk.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/182abb14-cee9-4e0b-8857-38a6f5cea2af.webp?fit=1500%2C812&quality=80&ssl=1","format":"news","language":"en-GB","content":"**Asian stock markets suffered heavy losses on Friday, 6 November, as fears of a slowdown in artificial intelligence investment triggered a sharp global equity sell-off, following a Wall Street rout that wiped more than $3.2 trillion (£2.4 trillion) from US share valuations.**\n\n**Japan’s Nikkei 225 plunged more than 6%**, leading losses across the region as investors reduced exposure to technology companies and semiconductor manufacturers that have benefited from the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure.\n\n**South Korea’s Kospi also fell 6% to 5,059.69**, with electronics giant **Samsung Electronics declining 6.4%** amid widespread selling pressure on companies linked to AI hardware and memory chip production.\n\nElsewhere, **Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.1% to 24,526.19**, while China’s Shanghai Composite declined **1.3% to 3,641.55**.\n\nAustralia’s **S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.5% to 9,020.80**, demonstrating how concerns originating in the US technology sector have spread across international financial markets.\n\nThe sharp declines followed a particularly difficult session on Wall Street, where **the S&P 500 plunged approximately 4.4%** as investors questioned whether the enormous spending commitments supporting the AI boom could be sustained.\n\n**US equities lost more than $3.2 trillion in market value during the sell-off**, according to the reported market-wide estimates, highlighting the scale of the retreat from riskier assets.\n\nTechnology stocks have experienced significant volatility in recent months as investors reassess valuations that have been supported by expectations of rapid growth in artificial intelligence.\n\n**One of the principal concerns is the rising cost of financing new AI data centres**, which require substantial investment in specialist semiconductors, electricity infrastructure, cooling systems and computing equipment.\n\nHigher borrowing costs could make some projects more expensive to finance, potentially slowing investment in the infrastructure underpinning the sector’s expansion.\n\nInvestors are also questioning whether future AI revenues will justify the scale of capital expenditure being committed by technology companies.\n\n**Concerns about excessive valuations have added to the selling pressure**, with some market participants warning that share prices had risen too rapidly relative to the commercial returns currently being generated.\n\nThe uncertainty has been compounded by the outcome of the **US midterm elections**, where the Democrats’ victory has raised questions about the future regulatory environment for artificial intelligence and data centre construction.\n\n**President Donald Trump attributed some of the market concerns to the Democratic election victory**, suggesting that opposition to new data centres could undermine investment in the infrastructure needed to support AI development.\n\nHowever, potential regulatory changes remain uncertain, and the extent to which future policies could affect construction activity has yet to be established.\n\nThe market downturn has also prompted investors to seek the relative safety of government bonds.\n\n**The yield on the US two-year Treasury note fell to 4.47% from 4.58%**, reflecting stronger demand for bonds as investors moved away from equities.\n\nBond yields move inversely to prices, meaning increased demand generally pushes yields lower.\n\n**The sharp declines in Japan and South Korea are particularly significant because of their exposure to semiconductor manufacturing and advanced technology supply chains**, which have been major beneficiaries of increased global AI spending.\n\nA sustained slowdown in data centre construction could affect demand expectations for memory chips, processors and other specialist components, although the scale of any reduction in investment remains unclear.\n\n**Friday’s Asian market rout underlines the growing sensitivity of global equities to changes in expectations surrounding artificial intelligence**, with technology-related selling now affecting broader stock indices and investor confidence.\n\n**Attention will turn to whether Wall Street can stabilise following Thursday’s heavy losses and whether concerns over AI valuations, financing costs and future regulation continue to weigh on markets**, as investors assess the sustainability of the technology sector’s rapid expansion."}