Global markets see rising risk aversion: South Korean stocks plunge over 4%, Bitcoin drops over 2.7%, Brent crude tops $111.

BlockBeats news, October 22 — Global market risk appetite cooled amid rising Middle East tensions and mixed tech earnings. South Korea's KOSPI fell more than 4%, with SK Hynix down over 5% and Samsung Electronics down over 4%; Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped about 2.65%, and the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index fell 1.72%, marking its lowest close since late July. In U.S. equities, Nasdaq futures fell 1.5% and S&P 500 futures dropped 0.8%.

In energy markets, Brent crude rose 2% to $111 per barrel. The U.S. State Department ordered the departure of non-emergency diplomatic personnel and their families from Saudi Arabia, further intensifying market concerns over escalating Middle East tensions and potential disruptions to crude supply.

Safe-haven sentiment pushed U.S. Treasury prices higher, with the 30-year yield falling 3 basis points to 5.38%, while the dollar fell 0.5% against the yen to 157.34. Precious metals weakened in tandem, with spot gold down 1.04% at $4,097 per ounce and spot silver down 3.21%, briefly losing the $56 per ounce level. Bitcoin fell more than 2.7% intraday to about $82,200.

Among tech stocks, Tesla fell 3.3% after hours on lowered capital expenditure guidance; Meta rose 2.14% after hours on raised AI-related spending outlook; Lam Research dropped 7.21% after hours on weaker-than-expected guidance. Scrutiny of AI investment returns and commercialization prospects continues to intensify, with investors shifting from focusing on capex scale to verifying actual performance and monetization capability.