Global markets slide as Democratic win fuels AI regulation fears

Global stock markets fell on Friday amid fears that a decisive Democratic victory in the US midterm elections could lead to stricter artificial intelligence regulations, slowing the sector's boom. Asian markets plunged, with Tokyo and Seoul hit hardest, while Wall Street futures showed mixed results. Japan's Nikkei dropped 6-7%, entering bear market territory, and South Korea's Kospi crashed 8.5% to nine-month lows. Chinese markets fell around 1%. The selloff follows a chaotic New York session where tech stocks entered correction, losing up to 6.4%, with the S&P 500 down 4.4% to its lowest since April 2025. Investors worry Democrats may impose tougher rules on AI and data centers. Major cloud providers like Microsoft and Oracle saw significant losses, while South Korean retail investors adopted a wait-and-see approach, calling the market reaction excessive.