Emerging Markets: Taipei, Seoul reel under chipmaker rout as AI frenzy unwinds

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Taiwan equities clock worst week since 2001
MSCI EM index falls to lowest since April
Indonesia stocks fall ahead of next week's MSCI review
By Roshan Thomas
Nov 6 (Reuters) - Taiwan equities booked their worst week since 2001 and South Korean shares slumped on Friday, as investors dumped chipmakers, accelerating a technology selloff driven by concerns over stricter regulation and fading AI optimism.
Financial markets across the world have seesawed this week as hopes that a Democratic sweep in US elections would hasten an end to the Iran war shrivelled in the face of mounting concern over tighter regulation of data centres.
The global tech selloff caused the Nasdaq's steepest one-day drop since April's "Liberation Day" rout, with fears of greater scrutiny of AI investments and data-centre projects spilling over into tech-heavy markets across emerging Asia.
MSCI's emerging markets index .MSCIEF fell 4.7% to its lowest since early April, dragged down by sharp declines in technology stocks across north Asia.
"There is a clear element of panic in the selling, with crowded positioning, deleveraging and potentially forced liquidations amplifying the decline," said Dilin Wu, research strategist at Pepperstone.
Taiwan stocks .TWII fell 4.5% to their lowest close since late April and posted the steepest weekly drop since September 2001. The market has slumped more than 20% from its early-October record high. 
South Korea's KOSPI .KS11 reeled from the technology-led selloff, plunging as much as 8.8% and triggering a circuit breaker before recovering some ground to close 6% lower. The benchmark lost more than a tenth of its value this week.
"What concerns me is that the underlying pressure hasn't really gone away," Wu said. "Foreign investors have been heavy sellers in Taiwan, and the broader unwind in global AI positioning may not be over yet."
Indonesia's rupiah IDR= remained within striking distance of the record low touched in June, while stocks .JKSE fell 2% with investors remaining cautious after MSCI earlier warned Indonesia could risk losing its emerging-market status over concerns about market accessibility and transparency.
Focus now shifts to the global index provider's November index review next week, which could offer fresh clues on Indonesia's standing in the benchmark provider's indexes.
In Singapore, stocks .STI slid 2.8%, dragged lower by heavyweight lenders DBS DBSM.SI and United Overseas Bank UOBH.SI, which fell 2.5% and 3.2%, respectively. 
The benchmark has lost more than 4% this week, weighed down by a sharp selloff in banks after the lenders reported weaker-than-expected profits.
In Malaysia, stocks .KLSE fell 1.4% and the ringgit MYR= weakened to 4.056 per US dollar. Bank Negara Malaysia left interest rates unchanged as expected on Thursday, citing moderate inflation and an economy it expects to remain resilient next year.

HIGHLIGHTS:
** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields at 7.740%
** Malaysia court issues order on ex-PM Najib's house arrest, his lawyer says
** New Zealand election campaign enters final day with result too close to call


 
Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0630 GMT
COUNTRY
FX RIC
FX DAILY %
FX YTD %
INDEX
STOCKS DAILY %
STOCKS YTD %
Japan
JPY=
-0.16
-0.80
.N225
-6.30
13.68
China
CNY=CFXS
-0.01
+4.79
.SSEC
-1.17
-8.12
India
INR=IN
+0.36
-4.54
.NSEI
0.30
-5.82
Indonesia
IDR=
-0.30
-8.05
.JKSE
-1.97
-42.97
Malaysia
MYR=
-0.27
+0.02
.KLSE
-1.35
-3.94
Philippines
PHP=
-0.23
-6.77
.PSI
-0.16
-4.69
S.Korea
KRW=
+0.11
+6.13
.KS11
-6.07
20.00
Singapore
SGD=
-0.21
+0.41
.STI
-2.78
10.82
Taiwan
TWD=TP
+0.50
-3.90
.TWII
-4.51
37.07
Thailand
THB=TH
-0.34
-6.18
.SETI
-1.61
17.00

Graphic: World FX rates  https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
Asian stock markets https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
 (Reporting by Roshan Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus, Clarence Fernandez and Subhranshu Sahu)
 ((Roshan.Thomas@thomsonreuters.com))