Asian Markets Tumble as Semiconductor Stocks Face Sharp Decline (9 Nov)

Semiconductor sector leads market drop

The Nasdaq fell 5.52% and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped 12.25% on November 5 following the Democratic party taking control of both houses of Congress. Dong Baozhen, chairman of Lingtong Shengtai, said: “The selloff shows that AI stock prices had been built on rosy illusions about the future, and now that illusion is gone”.

Apple stock performance and Intel strategy

Apple stock, traded as AAPL on the NASDAQ, was priced at $342.37 as of 9 November 2026, 4:05 am IST. This price represents a change of -7.14, or -2.04%, from the previous close of $349.51. The stock reached a day high of $345.79 and a day low of $338.30 with a trading volume of 44,703,806. Apple had a market capitalization of 3.41T USD as of July 31, 2024.

Apple informed Mac App Store developers that they are permitted to discontinue support for Intel-based Macs in applications that require macOS 13 or later. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is seeing its stock rewarded by the market for its broader chip and foundry operations rather than its Mac-related business. Intel stock (NASDAQ:INTC) surged.

McGraw Hill maintains fiscal guidance

The company expects adjusted EBITDA of $750 million to $790 million and unlevered free cash flow of approximately $400 million.

Total second-quarter revenue decreased 5.5 per cent to $632 million, while first-half revenue fell 1.9 per cent to $1.2 billion. Management attributed this pressure to lower capture rates in math programmes within the K-12 segment.

Higher Education revenue rose slightly to $213 million in the second quarter, with first-half revenue growing 4.5 per cent to $413 million.

This marked the division's 41st consecutive quarter of market-share growth. McGraw Hill reported an adjusted EBITDA of $251 million for the second quarter and $458 million for the first half.

The company ended the quarter with $233 million in cash and $644 million in liquidity. It has paid down $50 million in term debt and reduced total debt by approximately $700 million since its IPO.

Performance in the second half is supported by $1.8 billion in remaining performance obligations.

Management appointed Robin Lucas to lead the Higher Education division and Jana Thompson to lead the K-12 division.

It supported over 60 million digital units and shipped more than 40 million books globally.

Content is now available through Microsoft Copilot and Anthropic’s Claude for Teachers, which also integrates TeachFX. The company acquired TeachFX and Teachally, which management expects to have negligible revenue effects this year.

These acquisitions may be slightly dilutive to EBITDA for the remainder of the current year.

McGraw Hill is expanding its use of AI and maintaining disciplined cost management.

Management maintains a confident view of the earnings trajectory, supported by reaffirmed guidance and robust cash generation.

Movements in other equities

Skydance stock (NYSE:SKYD) experienced a decline. Ford stock (NYSE:F) also experienced a decline.

OPEN stock has been trading between $1.84 and $2.03 in recent days. SoundHound AI, identified by the ticker symbol SOUN, is the subject of reports questioning if it is a favourable purchase.

These reports also ask if the price of SoundHound AI will rise during 2025.

US political and economic developments

On the same day, federal judges issued rulings to limit the Trump administration's attempts to pressure state election officials regarding allegations of noncitizen voting.

U.S. imports reached a record high in September 2026, and the country reported record goods trade deficits with several nations despite tariffs implemented by President Trump. To address supply concerns, the U.S.

Independent Senator Bernie Sanders posted on social media calling for a "National data center moratorium now". Texas Governor Gina Hinojosa has pledged to pause approvals for data centres until the state legislature can pass laws, in a state that holds 27% of planned capacity.

The existing memorandum of understanding providing $3.8 billion in annual U.S. military aid to Israel is not scheduled to expire until September 2028.

The first 2026 College Football Playoff rankings, unveiled on 3 November 2026, placed Miami, Georgia, Utah, and Indiana in the top four positions.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy described the Learjet crash as a "horrific tragedy".

Global events impacting market stability

Hackers stole $6.3 billion in cryptocurrency from the Binance exchange late last month after compromising the computers of two software engineers. Supermarkets across Europe discarded millions of dollars in spoiled food following a cyberattack that caused refrigeration temperatures to rise.

At least seven flights and one cruise ship received similar hoax bomb threats on 3 November 2026.

A Learjet crashed in the residential area of Greenacres, Florida, on 1 November 2026, resulting in the deaths of all nine people on board.

British adventurer Karl Bushby, 57, completed a 31,000-mile walk around the world on 2 November 2026, arriving in his home city of Hull. British businessman and celebrity hairstylist John Frieda died at age 75, as confirmed by a post on his Instagram page on 3 November 2026.