Global markets today: Asian markets opened lower on Tuesday, October 20, tracking a weaker regional sentiment. The subdued start contrasted with overnight gains on Wall Street, where the Nasdaq advanced 1.11%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.41%.
South Korea’s KOSPI plunged 3.5% at the opening bell, extending losses in semiconductor stocks and trimming its 2026 gains to around 31%, down sharply from nearly 116% at its record closing high in June. While the small-cap Kosdaq declined 1.03%. Among major stocks, memory chipmaker SK Hynix fell 4.07%, while Samsung Electronics shed 1.03%.
Japanese markets also traded lower in morning deals, with the Nikkei 225 declining 1.21%, as weakness in technology and semiconductor-related stocks dragged on sentiment. SoftBank Group tumbled 4.46%, while chipmaking equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron fell 1.45% and Renesas Electronics dropped 1.49%.
Meanwhile, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.84% in early trading. Meanwhile, Taiwan index Taiex turned positive by rising 0.30% after opening in red.
Back home, GIFT Nifty was also trading flat-to-negative in early morning session on Tuesday, with the index down 3 points or 0.01% to 22,889. However, the Indian stock market will remain closed for trading today on account of Dussehra.
US stock market today
US stocks opened the week on a mixed note on Monday, October 19, as technology shares recovered from last week’s sell-off ahead of a busy earnings week, with investors awaiting results from major companies, including Tesla and Meta Platforms.
The Nasdaq Composite climbed 1%, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.5% shortly after the opening bell. In contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 63 points, or around 0.1%.
The rebound in technology stocks followed a weak session on Friday, when all three major US indices ended in the red. The Nasdaq Composite posted its steepest weekly decline since June, while the S&P 500 dropped nearly 2% over the week.
Semiconductor stocks rose, led by gains in Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), as investors returned to technology shares after last week’s sell-off triggered by concerns over the financing of artificial intelligence-related investments.
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