Post-US midterms AI worries pummel shares in Japan, South Korea

Japanese and South Korean shares plunged on Friday after US shares tumbled overnight on worries that midterm election results could slow or derail the artificial intelligence data centre investment boom. Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 5.1 per cent to 56,930 points in early trade. Seoul’s Kospi index dived 8.5 per cent to 4,923, triggering a circuit breaker which suspended trading for 20 minutes. Investors had initially cheered Tuesday’s Democratic drubbing of US President Donald Trump’s...