Asian stock indexes fell due to a sell-off in companies related to artificial intelligence. It happened as the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 lost $2.5 trillion. The overall S&P 500 index fell 4.4%. The Democrats' landslide victory in the US midterm elections raised concerns among investors about a possible slowdown in data center construction. The fall was the worst since April 2025, when the market was stunned by Trump's global tariffs. Today, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 6%, its worst performance since May. The shares of the technology investment giant SoftBank fell by almost 11% on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and the manufacturer of memory chips Qiaoxia fell by 8.7%. In Korea, too, the market is under pressure due to expectations of weakening demand for chips. SoftBank pays special attention to Asian markets. The Chinese regulator blocked the company's deal to purchase the assets of the industrial robot manufacturer ABB Robotics for $5.4 billion. This undermines the strategy of the CEO of SoftBank to combine the development of artificial intelligence and robotics. ABB Robotics specializes in industrial equipment, such as large robotic arms capable of making precise movements in factories. SoftBank is a major investor in OpenAI. This is not the only deal related to artificial intelligence that has been banned by the Chinese government recently. In April, the owners of Facebook rejected the acquisition of the start-up Manus. Chinese authorities are tightening their grip on AI.

Asian stock indexes fell due to a sell-off in companies related to artificial intelligence. It happened as the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 lost $2.5 trillion. The overall S&P 500 index fell 4.4%. The Democrats' landslide victory in the US midterm elections raised concerns among investors about a possible slowdown in data center construction. The fall was the worst since April 2025, when the market was stunned by Trump's global tariffs. Today, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 6%, its worst performance since May. The shares of the technology investment giant SoftBank fell by almost 11% on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and the manufacturer of memory chips Qiaoxia fell by 8.7%. In Korea, too, the market is under pressure due to expectations of weakening demand for chips. SoftBank pays special attention to Asian markets. The Chinese regulator blocked the company's deal to purchase the assets of the industrial robot manufacturer ABB Robotics for $5.4 billion. This undermines the strategy of the CEO of SoftBank to combine the development of artificial intelligence and robotics. ABB Robotics specializes in industrial equipment, such as large robotic arms capable of making precise movements in factories. SoftBank is a major investor in OpenAI. This is not the only deal related to artificial intelligence that has been banned by the Chinese government recently. In April, the owners of Facebook rejected the acquisition of the start-up Manus. Chinese authorities are tightening their grip on AI.