Nikkei falls to three-month low as AI stocks slide on US election jitters

Japanese equities slid to a three-month low as AI-related stocks led a broad sell-off, with investors cutting exposure to the technology trade ahead of the US election.

The Nikkei's fall to its weakest level in three months puts the index's AI-linked names at the centre of the move, according to Token Times. The selling reflects unease over how the US vote could reshape policy toward artificial intelligence and the companies driving the global rally in the sector.

The retreat is a reminder of how tightly the AI trade has bound markets together: a shift in sentiment toward US technology policy travels quickly into Tokyo, where chip and AI-exposed shares carry heavy weight in the index.

For investors, the question is whether the pullback is a pause before the election result or the start of a deeper repricing of AI valuations that have driven gains across major markets this year.

What it means for Pakistan: A sustained sell-off in global AI stocks would reach Pakistan mainly through technology-heavy portfolios and any local funds or investors holding US and Japanese equities, and through the wider risk sentiment that shapes flows into emerging markets. Pakistan's own market has little direct AI exposure, so the immediate channel is sentiment rather than earnings.