Japan's Katayama: Getting closer to taking decisive step in FX market

On November 5, Eastern Time, the three major U.S. stock indices tumbled, with semiconductor and AI infrastructure stocks continuing to face pressure. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell over 9%, hitting its lowest level since mid-April this year. AI infrastructure faces the potential threat of a slowdown in data center construction. A decisive Democratic victory in the midterm elections sparked investor concerns over tightening regulation in the data center sector. If potential construction pauses materialize, they could delay the deployment of computing capacity and the delivery of upstream equipment, prompting a reassessment of the timeline for future revenue realization.

TradingKey - On Friday, Eastern Time (November 6), the United States will release the October non-farm payrolls report. Current market consensus expects US non-farm payrolls to increase by approximately 65,000 in October, up from 29,000 in September. The unemployment rate is projected to hold steady at 4.2%, while month-over-month average hourly earnings growth may rebound from 0.1% to 0.3%. With the Federal Reserve having just paused interest rate hikes at its October meeting and the market still betting on another rate hike in December, whether this jobs report confirms that the US labor market remains resilient will serve as a key variable influencing interest rate expectations and the near-term trajectories of US equities, the US dollar, and gold (XAUUSD).

Micron plunged 25% in a single month, falling below the $800 mark, as technical indicators warn of a potential further 30% decline.

Japanese and South Korean stock markets diverged, as the Nikkei tracked gains in US equities to open higher, while the KOSPI tumbled 2.4%. Kioxia plummeted 8%, and SK Hynix and SoftBank dropped 6%.

On Wednesday, November 4, Eastern Time, US stocks surged. Political uncertainty facing the market eased as the Democratic Party won control of both houses of Congress and Donald Trump accepted the election results. A sharp drop in oil prices further boosted investor sentiment, with tech stocks leading the gains, while AI infrastructure-related stocks came under pressure. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 3.03% to 53,356.12; the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 1.44% to 25,736.51; and the S&P 500 Index advanced 1.58% to 7,688.62.