Asian stocks opened lower after a sell-off in US chipmakers deepened, overshadowing a plunge in oil prices on optimism over diplomatic progress towards ending the war in Iran.
The MSCI Asia Pacific gauge dropped 0.5% with South Korea’s Kospi Index dropping more than 3%. In the US, a gauge of chipmakers extended a three-day rout to 12% and the Nasdaq 100 sank 10% from its peak, entering a technical correction. In a sign some investors are looking to buy on dips, US stock futures gained. Japan is closed for a holiday.
In Asia, attention will also turn to Chinese equities after the central bank said it will encourage financial institutions to make greater use of stock-support tools and optimise their terms as the authorities seek to bolster market stability.
Apple’s shares fell in late US trading after the company delivered a mixed outlook to investors in its first quarterly report under chief executive John Ternus, with narrower profit margins overshadowing an upbeat sales forecast. Elsewhere, Anthropic disclosed a twelve-fold increase in quarterly revenue while outlining plans to spend more than US$895 billion (S$1.14 billion) in the coming years.
US oil held its losses early on Nov 3 after global benchmark Brent crude slumped 7.6% to close at US$104.77 a barrel as traders assessed signs of progress toward ending the conflict, a day before Americans vote in the midterm elections. A Bloomberg gauge of the dollar weakened on Nov 2 and longer-maturity Treasuries outperformed.
Easing geopolitical tensions are lowering energy prices and inflation risks, yet the drop in crude has so far failed to revive appetite for technology shares as concerns over AI spending and stretched valuations persist.
“Lower oil should be a tailwind for tech, but the fact that stocks could not hold the open even with crude plunging shows how little conviction is left even after last week’s carnage,” said Dave Mazza, chief executive at Roundhill Financial.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his government had been granted more authority by the country’s supreme leader to pursue peace talks, while US President Donald Trump hinted at progress in negotiations.
“They want to make a deal, and that could happen,” Trump told reporters in Washington. He added that oil prices had fallen because “it looks like that’s coming together very nicely” and “people found out about it”.
Moments later, Trump mouthed “no” when a reporter shouted a question about whether he would resume military strikes on Iran after the Nov 3 midterm elections.
Concerns over AI spending were also in focus as big technology companies returned to US bond markets to fund their investment plans. After an almost three-month borrowing drought, they are flooding back in.
Oracle is selling US$10 billion of bonds alongside an equal amount of equity, while Meta Platforms is eyeing at least US$20 billion from a potential sale in multiple currencies. Microsoft sold US$25 billion of bonds on Nov 29, its first US offering since 2017, while Alphabet tapped Europe’s bond market on Nov 2 for the second time in 2026.
The economic calendar adds another potential catalyst for the markets. US manufacturing activity picked up in October, supported by the strongest increase in production in nearly five years, while investors are looking ahead to a series of labour market reports.
US job openings data due on Nov 3 are expected to show that listings edged higher in September, while weekly jobless claims Thursday are seen remaining near historically low levels. Economists expect the Nov 6 payrolls report to show job growth more than doubled to 65,000 in October, with the unemployment rate holding at 4.2%.
“It’s going to be an extremely interesting week in the markets,” said Matt Maley at Miller Tabak. “We’ll have political issues to decipher as well as geopolitical ones. And growing doubts about AI investment returns will likely matter much more than historical patterns in determining the market’s direction going forward.” BLOOMBERG
Source : https://www.straitstimes.com/business/asian-stocks-fall-after-us-losses-oil-holds-drop
