Tokyo and Seoul shares plunge after US tech rout

Asian markets plunged Friday after a US tech rout sparked by worries that midterm election results could slow AI data center investment. Tokyo's Nikkei fell 5.1 percent, while Seoul's Kospi dived 8.5 percent, triggering a circuit breaker. The sell-off followed a 5.5 percent drop in the tech-focused Nasdaq, its worst session since April 2025, battering Nvidia and other semiconductor stocks. South Korean memory chip makers suffered heavily, with Samsung Electronics plunging nearly 10 percent and SK hynix falling over 11 percent. Investors initially cheered Tuesday's Democratic defeat of President Donald Trump's Republican Party but grew anxious over potential stricter AI regulations and data center construction slowdowns. Japan's Tokyo Electron and Kioxia also dropped sharply amid the global chip sell-off.