Asian Stocks Fall as U.S. Chip Sell-Off Spreads

Asian stocks opened lower on Tuesday, November 3, as a deepening sell-off in U.S. chipmakers outweighed a sharp fall in oil prices. The MSCI Asia Pacific gauge slipped 0.5 percent, South Korea's Kospi fell more than 3.34 percent, and Taiwan's TAIEX lost 1.21 percent, while Japanese markets were shut for Culture Day and Hang Seng futures rose 0.7 percent.

The regional decline mirrored the U.S. session, where semiconductor shares extended their late-October slide on doubts about the returns from massive AI investments. South Korea and Taiwan, home to the world's most important chip manufacturers, bore the brunt of the selling.

Oil's drop offered only partial relief. Brent crude fell 7.6 percent to $104.77 a barrel on hopes for a U.S.-Iran deal, which would normally support import-dependent Asian economies — but the chip sell-off dominated sentiment on Tuesday.

Analysts said the moves show how tightly global markets are now linked to the AI trade. A reassessment of chip demand in the United States quickly becomes a regional story in Asia, where suppliers' earnings depend on the same customers.

Traders will watch the U.S. election results, Friday's jobs report and upcoming earnings from Asian chip giants for signs of stabilization. Until then, strategists cautioned, the market's mood is likely to stay fragile.