Asian index futures pointed higher in overnight trading, suggesting Tokyo and Taipei will open firmer on Monday after Friday's brutal sell-off pushed Japan's Nikkei into a bear market.

Futures turn up

December 2026 Nikkei 225 futures on the Osaka Exchange ended the night session at 58,250, up 840 points and 815.23 points above the Nikkei's cash close of 57,434.77, on volume of 23,614 contracts. Topix futures rose 79 points to 3,779. In Taiwan, TAIEX futures rose 646 points, or 1.63%, to close the night session at 40,298, back above the 40,000 level, with TSMC futures gaining NT$40. Hang Seng night futures closed 148 points higher at 24,647.

Friday's damage

The rebound follows one of the worst days in years for Asian equities. Japan's Nikkei closed down 5.96% at 57,434.77 on Friday, a fall of 3,643.13 points and its third-largest point drop on record, taking it more than 20% below its June record high and into a bear market. It was the index's first finish below 60,000 in about six months. Taiwan's Taiex fell 4.51% to 39,701.64 after suffering its largest intraday point drop ever, while South Korea's Kospi closed down 6.02% at 5,059.69 after an 8% morning plunge triggered a 20-minute trading halt.

What drove the turn

The overnight recovery tracked a rebound in US chip stocks on Friday, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index closing up 4.21% and TSMC's US-listed shares rising 6.33%. Wall Street's broader session was mixed, with the Nasdaq Composite up 1.09% and the S&P 500 up 0.31% while the Dow fell 0.46%, after Thursday's rout had sent the Nasdaq into correction territory. Markets remain on edge over tighter regulation of artificial intelligence and data-centre construction after the Democrats' midterm sweep of Congress, which traders blame for the week's sell-off.

What to watch

Whether Monday's cash sessions follow the futures higher will be the first test of whether the rout has run its course or is only pausing.