Category: Business News

Asian stock markets fell sharply on Friday, 6 November 2026, after a heavy sell-off in US technology stocks on doubts about AI spending. Japan’s Nikkei 225 plunged 5.7 percent, and South Korea’s Kospi dropped 7.4 percent, with the fall in Seoul so steep that trading was briefly halted by a circuit breaker.

India moved the other way. On Thursday, 5 November, the Sensex jumped 2.60 percent to 79,310.01 and the Nifty 50 rose 2.40 percent to 24,536.60 — the biggest single-day gain in seven months, and the sixth straight session of gains for both indices.

What happened on Wall Street

  • Nasdaq: down 5.5 percent on Thursday.
  • S&P 500: down 4.4 percent.
  • Dow Jones: down 3.4 percent.

The trigger was weak results from chipmaker Qualcomm and growing doubts about whether companies are spending too much, too fast, on AI infrastructure. Nvidia shares fell sharply, dragging down semiconductor stocks across Asia.

Why India rose while Asia fell

  • Oil prices fell. Brent crude slipped below $100 a barrel, which helps India, a big oil importer, and eases inflation worries.
  • Foreign investors returned. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) invested about ₹55,000 crore in Indian equities over 14 trading sessions, reversing months of selling. Thursday saw the biggest single-day foreign buying in nearly six years.
  • Strong services data. India’s services PMI rose to 55.8 in October, a four-month high.
  • Midterm result. The Democrats’ sweep of the US midterms raised hopes of stronger foreign inflows into emerging markets.

All broad market indices ended in the green on Thursday. Nifty Financial Services and Nifty Bank were the top gainers, rising over 4 percent and 3 percent respectively. The rupee settled flat at 94.46 against the US dollar.

What happens next

On Friday morning, Indian markets opened almost flat despite the Asian crash — the Sensex started at 79,413.66 and the Nifty at 24,538.20 — but by 10:37 AM the Sensex was up 0.73 percent at 79,891.12. GIFT Nifty had pointed to a weaker open at 24,460, so the resilience surprised traders.

The market’s message is mixed: global AI stocks are correcting hard, but India is being treated differently for now, thanks to cheaper oil and strong foreign buying. That can change quickly if the global sell-off deepens.

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine market updates, 5–6 November 2026; Reuters reports on Asian markets, 6 November 2026.

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