Access all our platforms from a single account.
Asia Market Quick Take – 06 November, 2026
Key points:
- Macro: AI sell off on investor concerns about Democratic regulation of AI industry
- Equities: SOX fell 12%, Nasdaq 100 –6.3% & VIX spikes to 28.18
- FX: Yen gains on haven demand; Aussie slides on risk-off
- Commodities: Gold hovers around $4,100 and brent oil near $100
- Fixed income: Treasuries surge as the curve bull steepens
------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer: Past performance does not indicate future performance.
Macro:
- US Midterm Aftermath: Investor concerns centre on potential Democratic regulation of the AI industry, which has driven a sharp rotation out of technology and semiconductor stocks. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh is seen as having more room to focus on inflation with reduced political pressure from the White House.
- US Jobless Claims: Initial jobless claims fell 6,000 to 189,000 in the week ending 31 October, well below the consensus estimate of 196,000 and below the entire estimate range, pointing to continued labour market resilience ahead of Friday's October nonfarm payrolls report.
- US Productivity: Q3 nonfarm business productivity rose at a 3.6% annualised rate, the fastest pace in a year and above the 2.7% consensus estimate. Unit labour costs fell 0.7%, versus expectations for a 0.4% increase, a disinflationary signal.
- Fed Speak: Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack said monetary policy needs to move to a restrictive stance to bring inflation back to 2%, adding she prefers more frequent, smaller rate adjustments.
- US Treasury Refunding: The Treasury tweaked its quarterly refunding guidance, dropping the phrase "at least" from its pledge to hold auction sizes steady, signalling potential changes to issuance — possibly larger short-dated sales and cuts to longer-dated auctions — in coming quarters.
Equities:
- US — Wall Street suffered its worst session since April 2025 on Thursday as a post-election AI selloff snowballed. The S&P 500 fell 4.36% to 7,353.73, the Nasdaq 100 plunged 6.36% to 26,629.81 — its steepest drop since March 2020, breaking below its 200-day moving average and wiping out $2.3 trillion in value — while the Dow shed 3.44% to 51,523.06. Chip stocks bore the brunt, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index tumbling ~12%. Qualcomm and Arm Holdings fell on weak outlooks. Hedging costs surged with the VIX posting its biggest jump since April 2025, VIX options spiking fastest since 2018, steep short-term backwardation, and wider S&P options spreads. After hours, Airbnb surged 11% on a 19% revenue beat, while DraftKings sank ~25% on a disappointing 2027 outlook and Microchip Technology fell ~7.4% on a weak forecast.
- EU — European equities initially touched record highs on Thursday before reversing as the US tech rout deepened. The Stoxx 600 closed down 0.38% at 654.87, the DAX fell 0.43% to 26,325.01, and the FTSE 100 lost 0.43% to 10,782.66. The CAC 40 bucked the trend, closing up 0.34% at 8,205.37. ASML slid 6.5% as the region's semiconductor stocks fell ~11% — their worst day since March 2020. Rheinmetall plunged 16.1% after cutting its FY2026 guidance due to delays in artillery ammunition testing. Coca-Cola HBC dropped 17.9% on Russia-related concerns. Europe outperformed the US by ~2.5 percentage points, aided by its lower AI exposure.
- Asia — Asian markets are experiencing severe turbulence on Friday morning as the US tech rout spreads. The Kospi has plunged 8.55% to 4,923.47, falling below the 5,000 milestone and triggering a circuit breaker halt for 20 minutes; Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix both fell sharply, with SK Hynix ADRs down over 13% in the US on Thursday. The Nikkei 225 broke below 60,000 for the first time since May, with December futures pointing to a ~6% decline from Thursday's close of 61,077.90. Hang Seng futures pointed to more modest losses, with Citi noting the Democratic sweep may redirect capital toward Hong Kong and China-listed stocks. The STI last closed at 5,296.25. Sony ADRs rose 6.1% after the company raised its full-year operating income guidance above estimates.
Earnings this week:
- Friday – OCBC, Macquarie, HKEX
FX:
- The DXY steadied at 101.57 on Thursday, remaining less than 1% below a near 18-month intraday high, with strategists divided on whether the bearish move has legs.
- USDJPY fell to 157.52, with the yen rising past 158 overnight as the tech selloff boosted safe-haven flows. Japan's labour cash earnings data printed well above forecasts, reinforcing the case for further Bank of Japan rate hikes and providing an additional yen tailwind.
- The Australian dollar is the worst-performing G10 currency this week, down ~1.5%, trading at 0.6935. Despite the RBA hiking rates on Tuesday, markets are now pricing the move as a potential policy error, with February hike odds falling to ~20% from ~40%.
- USDKRW is at 1,354.75. The won had initially strengthened on the Democratic sweep but faces renewed pressure as the Kospi circuit breaker triggers and
Commodities:
- Brent jumped ~4% above $98 and WTI rose 2.7% as traders reassessed the US‑Iran war outlook after Democrats’ landslide Congress takeover, with Trump signaling no immediate new strikes and Democrats vowing to end the nine‑month conflict.
- Spot gold is at $4,096/oz, up 5.7% month-to-date, recovering firmly from below $4,000 as the weaker dollar and lower Treasury yields boost the metal's appeal. Central banks accelerated gold purchases in Q3 2026 to the fastest pace since late 2024, providing a structural demand backdrop.
- LME 3-month copper is down 2.2% month-to-date at $13,843.50/t. The Democratic sweep initially revived copper tariff trade speculation, but broader risk-off sentiment and concerns over AI-driven industrial demand have weighed on the metal. Freeport-McMoRan fell 6.5% on Thursday despite announcing a $4.5B investment to expand US copper production.
Fixed income:
- US Treasuries rallied sharply on Thursday as the tech selloff stoked safe-haven demand. The 10-year yield fell ~6bps to close at 4.84%, the 2-year fell to 4.46%, and the 30-year settled at 5.26% — the lowest levels across the curve since early September. The rally was led by the front-end in a bull-steepening move, with options markets targeting a further drop in the 10-year yield to ~4.7% by 13 November.
- The 5s30s spread widened to 65.3bps from 59.2bps as the Treasury's tweaked refunding guidance — dropping "at least" from its steady-issuance pledge — opened the door to potential cuts in longer-dated auction sizes. JPMorgan closed its 10s30s steepener recommendation ahead of Friday's payrolls data.
- UK gilts came under pressure after the Bank of England raised rates, boosting market pricing for a further December hike. Front-end gilts underperformed, with 2-year yields rising, contributing to some spillover weakness in short-dated Treasuries during the London session on Thursday.
For a global look at markets – go to Inspiration.
This content is marketing content and should not be considered investment advice. Trading financial instruments carries risks and historic performance is not a guarantee for future performance.
The instrument(s) mentioned in this content may be issued by a partner, from which Saxo receives promotion, payment or retrocessions. While Saxo receives compensation from these partnerships, all content is conducted with the intention of providing clients with valuable options and information.