On 22 October, the Nikkei Average fell ¥1,713 and South Korea’s KOSPI dropped more than 3%. The sell-off spread across Asian markets, led by AI and semiconductor stocks. The article compares the factors affecting each market to identify what was behind the rout.
On 22 October, selling in AI-related and semiconductor stocks hit Asian equity markets. Japan’s Nikkei Average fell ¥1,713.40 from the previous day to ¥62,907.84, while South Korea’s KOSPI fell 3.52%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 3.03%, Taiwan’s TAIEX fell 1.81%, and China’s Shanghai Composite also fell 1.48%.
The article analyses views linking the latest stock-market decline to Black Thursday in 1929 and treating it as a chain-reaction crash, but finds that the background to the moves differed from market to market. Trading volume in 1929 is said to have been at a record level, and some commentators caution against drawing a simple causal connection with the latest decline.
The latest sharp fall was also not sudden. The Nikkei Average had plunged by ¥3,318.34 on 15 October, and market volatility had continued amid concerns about AI investment and expectations of tighter US monetary policy.
Semiconductor-related stocks led declines in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, while China and Hong Kong had different vulnerabilities. Comparing the structure of each market helps clarify the reality of the latest stock-market decline and the risks requiring caution.