Asian stocks mixed as Kioxia sinks, oil falls on Iran talks

Asian markets were mixed on Monday, November 2, after Friday's rout in U.S. technology stocks. Worries about the cost of the artificial intelligence buildout kept pressure on chipmakers across the region. On Wall Street on Friday, the S&P 500 fell 1.8% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.9%, the market's worst day since June, according to the Associated Press. Intel fell nearly 29%, Reuters reported via The Economic Times.apnews.com+1

Investors are now waiting for Apple, which reports results later Monday, and for the U.S. midterm elections on Tuesday, AP noted.apnews.com

Chipmakers Split

Japanese memory chipmaker Kioxia Holdings fell roughly 14% after its earnings forecast disappointed investors. SoftBank Group also slipped, which helped pull Japan's Nikkei 225 lower after early gains, AP reported. Kioxia is down about 70% from its June record, but it is still up more than 200% this year, according to AFP via RTL Today.today.rtl.lu+1

South Korea's Kospi changed direction during the session. It fell in early trade, then rose as SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics gained. Taiwan's Taiex edged lower as TSMC declined, AP said. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng rose, and the Shanghai Composite gained even though China's factory activity contracted in October. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell.apnews.com

Last week's earnings from Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft showed the companies plan to keep spending heavily on data centers and chips, even as investors grow impatient for returns, AFP reported. "Earnings growth is strong, but it is no longer accelerating," wrote Ben Snider, chief U.S. equity strategist at Goldman Sachs, in a note cited by Reuters. The Nasdaq lost almost 7% in October, its worst month since April 2025. Advanced Micro Devices and Palantir also report this week.economictimes.indiatimes.com+1

Oil Falls on Iran Diplomacy

Oil prices fell more than 3% early Monday. Iran's foreign minister said Iranian negotiators were in Qatar discussing a proposal that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days if the U.S. meets certain conditions, AP reported. Axios reported that President Donald Trump wanted the talks to continue. However, Trump warned at a rally on Sunday that "at some point we're going to have to give them the hammer," AFP noted.today.rtl.lu+1

Midterms and the Fed

According to Reuters, a Democratic win in either or both houses of Congress could create more political hurdles for data centers. Futures still put the chance of a Federal Reserve rate hike in December at 72%, Reuters reported. The U.S. jobs report is due Friday.economictimes.indiatimes.com