Amid the aftereffects of the U.S. presidential election, AI-related stocks were sold in overseas markets and the Nikkei average briefly fell by more than ¥4,300. Concerns over U.S. developments surrounding data centers and tighter regulation spread to Asian markets, including Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, which also fell sharply.
A global stock-market sell-off spread in response to developments surrounding the U.S. midterm elections, and the Nikkei Stock Average, Japan's key equity-market indicator, briefly fell by more than ¥4,300. It closed near the end of trading at ¥57,434, down ¥3,643, falling below ¥60,000 for the first time in six months.
The decline was driven by a sharp drop in AI-related and semiconductor stocks, while concerns over excessive investment in data centers deteriorated market sentiment. In the United States, data-center construction has increased 13-fold over the past 10 years, raising concerns that the risk of shortages of water for cooling and increased electricity demand could affect local communities and trade. The Democratic candidate's stance favoring tighter regulation is also making it more difficult to build local consensus.
Policy and regulatory developments surrounding AI data centers have affected global capital flows and accelerated selling of AI- and semiconductor-related stocks in equity markets in Japan, the United States and Europe. Remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump and debate over the approval authority of local governments have also cast a shadow over the investment environment for data centers.
Against this backdrop, some view the Nikkei average's decline as having moved in tandem with falls in AI- and semiconductor-related stocks. Regulation of data centers and challenges involving electricity supply are expected to remain key market focuses.