Asian AI Stocks Lose $550 Billion as Chipmakers Plunge; Bitcoin Rises 4%

AI stocks in Asia suffered a broad selloff today, wiping out nearly $550 billion in South Korea, Taiwan and Japan and driving chipmaker shares sharply lower. Investors are worried that stricter data center rules after the Democratic midterm victory could slow AI spending. Bitcoin rose 4% to about $80,242 and later climbed to $81,000. South Korea took the biggest hit, with about $203 billion erased from its stock market. The KOSPI plunged 5.28% to around 5,383, prompting the Korea Exchange to suspend program sell orders for five minutes after KOSPI 200 futures losses exceeded 5%. The KOSPI has fallen nearly 24% over the past month. Semiconductor giants led the decline: SK Hynix fell 9.46% and Samsung Electronics dropped 7.57%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 3.1% to a six-month low, adding pressure on Asian chipmakers. Taiwan market lost about $182 billion, with the TAIEX down 3.28% at 42,314, a three-month low. Technology shares led the drop. MediaTek fell 6.86%, Delta Electronics 7.38% and ASE Technology 9%. TSMC fell 2.5% as investors cut exposure to semiconductor stocks. Japan lost another $160 billion, with the Nikkei 225 down 3% at around 61,077. SoftBank Group fell 7%, while Tokyo Electron, Kioxia Holdings and Advantest dropped 9.42%, 13.14% and 14.71%, respectively. Some nontechnology stocks rose: Fast Retailing gained 4.72%, and Toyota Motor and Mitsubishi UFJ also advanced. The main concern is that Democrats, after taking control of both chambers of Congress, could push for stricter rules on AI companies and data centers. Investors fear new restrictions could delay data center projects, raise power infrastructure costs and slow AI spending. Those concerns have heightened fears of weaker chip demand, weighing on Asian markets that depend on semiconductor exports and US technology companies. Chinese technology stocks moved higher. Moore Threads gained 3.29% and Shanghai Biren Technology rose 2.5%. The Hang Seng Tech Index jumped 4.5%, led by Alibaba and Meituan. Their lower dependence on US AI infrastructure spending helped them stand out during the selloff. Gold and silver recovered, rising 1.7% and 1%, respectively. Brent crude fell 8.7% to $94.68 a barrel. Bitcoin gained more than 4%, reaching $81,000.