Taipei, April 8 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan extended losses from a session earlier, falling about 770 points Tuesday but the downturn was capped as some investors appeared willing to buy the dip, dealers said.
After falling 9.70 percent Monday, the Taiex, the weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), ended down 772.40 points, or 4.02 percent, at 18,459.95 after moving between 18,180.48 and 19,064.47 Tuesday. Despite the reduced sell-off, Tuesday’s losses were the eighth daily decline in history.
Turnover totaled NT$548.95 billion (US$16.64 billion), up from about NT$166.10 billion a session earlier.
“Judging from today’s movement, I think some bargain hunters jumped into the trading floor after yesterday’s plunge as the U.S. markets showed signs of stabilizing,” Moore Securities Investment Consulting analyst Adam Lin said, referring to the 0.10 percent rebound on the tech-heavy Nasdaq index after a fall of 5.82 percent Friday, and a 0.91 percent drop on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, compared with a 5.05 percent plunge a session earlier.
“TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.) saw part of its earlier losses recouped, helping to ease volatility in the electronics sector as well as on the broader market,” Lin said. “I do not rule out the possibility that government-led funds stood behind the bargain hunting.”
After falling the maximum 10 percent Monday, contract chipmaker TSMC, the most heavily weighted stock here, fell 3.77 percent to close at NT$816.00 Tuesday but came off a low of NT$797.00. TSMC’s recovery from the day’s low helped the Taiex recover more than 150 points.
Other semiconductor stocks also encountered less pressure with smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc. down 2.70 percent to end at NT$1,260.00, and IC packaging and testing services provider ASE Technology Holding Co. down 5.20 percent to close at NT$127.50. However, TSMC’s application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design unit Global Unichip Corp. still shed 10 percent to end at NT$900.00.
iPhone assembler and artificial intelligence server maker Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., second to TSMC in terms of market value, extended its 10 percent fall from a session earlier, falling by the maximum to close at NT$125.00. Quanta Computer Inc., another AI server supplier, also tumbled 10 percent to end at NT$191.50.
“Trump’s latest tariff actions continued to send ripples through the market, particularly for export-oriented industries,” Lin said.
Bargain hunting was also seen among select old economy industries to allow them to climb out of Monday’s weakness, Lin said, citing food stocks including Uni-President Enterprises Corp., which rose 5.10 percent to close at NT$78.30, and Lian Hwa Foods Corp., which gained 6.36 percent to end at NT$125.50 as they benefited from domestic demand.
Elsewhere in the old economy sector, petrochemical stocks also rode waves of bargain hunting with Formosa Plastics Corp. rising 1.89 percent to close at NT$35.05 and Nan Ya Plastics Corp. up 1.94 percent to end at NT$28.85.
“I also suspected government support went to financial stocks to give an additional boost to the Taiex,” Lin said.
Bucking the overall downturn, the financial sector rose 0.53 percent as Mega Financial Holding Co. gained 7.59 percent to close at NT$38.25 and Hua Nan Financial Holding Co. added 2.38 percent to end at NT$25.85. However, Fubon Financial Holding Co. closed down 1.27 percent at NT$77.90.
“Whether and when the Taiex will have a meaningful rebound will depend on how the U.S. markets perform,” Lin said. “With tariff uncertainty in place, it is possible for investors to pocket profits whenever the index bounces back.”
According to the TWSE, foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$34.18 billion worth of shares on the main board Tuesday.
