Asian shares mostly advance but tech stocks remain volatile, while oil sinks 3.3%

Asian shares experienced mostly gains on Monday, although technology stocks remained unstable, while oil prices plummeted by more than 3%, according to the Associated Press. The tech sector faced volatility as investors grew concerned about the artificial intelligence boom potentially turning into a bubble. U.S. futures ticked upward after Wall Street witnessed its worst day since June, with investors offloading AI-related and technology stocks.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 pulled back slightly, ending the day at 63,218.02 following some major tech names' declines. Tech-oriented OpenAI investor SoftBank Group fell by 1.8%, and South Korean memory chipmaker Kioxia Holdings dropped roughly 14% due to disappointing earnings forecasts. Meanwhile, South Korea's Kospi index rose 2.3% to 5,859.83, while Samsung Electronics and memory chip company SK Hynix saw gains of 1.7% and 4.2%, respectively.

The Nikkei 225 has declined over 6% in the past month, and the Kospi dropped more than 16% over the same period. Taiwan’s Taiex slipped by 0.2%, with chipmaker TSMC shedding 1.5%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.6% to 23,437.41. Despite China reporting that its factory activity contracted in October, the Shanghai Composite index rose 1.2% to 3,640.93.

The country's central bank and regulatory body were set to meet with financial institutions on Monday to discuss supporting the capital market, according to Chinese media reports. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.6% to 8,851.40. Investors closely watched the U.S. midterm elections, as voters expressed growing concerns about AI, data centers, inflation, and other pressing issues.

Oil prices fell more than 3%, with Brent crude, the global benchmark, sliding 3.3% to $109.66 per barrel, and U.S. crude dropping 3.3% to $100.64 a barrel. Iran's top diplomat claimed that Iranian negotiators were in Qatar for talks on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, but no direct talks with the U.S. were being held.