Taipei, April 7 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan saw their steepest daily decline in history Monday, falling more than 2,000 points, as investor sentiment was hurt by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff actions announced last week, dealers said.
Out of 1,034 stocks traded on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), a total of 945, including contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), fell by the maximum 10 percent amid concerns that the tariffs could undermine global trade, dealers added.
The Taiex, the TWSE’s benchmark weighted index, ended down 2,065.87 points, or 9.7 percent, at 19,232.35 after moving between 19,212.02 and 20,153.57.
It was the first time the index had closed below the 20,000-point mark since Aug. 5, 2024, when it ended at 19,830.88.
Monday’s losses were the steepest ever in the Taiex’s history, smashing the previous record of 1,807.21 also seen on Aug. 5, 2024, when disappointing U.S. data prompted investors to worry about the economy.
Despite the sell-off, turnover on the local market totaled only NT$147.295 billion (US$4.44 billion), the lowest single day total in more than two years.
“The low turnover showed many investors were reluctant to buy the dip as they expect more losses to follow due to the tariff shocks,” Mega International Investment Services analyst Alex Huang said.
On April 2, Trump announced a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from most countries, with the exception of Russia, North Korea, Cuba and Belarus, starting April 5.
Countries with larger trade surpluses with the U.S. will face higher tariffs starting April 9, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (26 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (37 percent).
China took retaliatory action soon after Trump’s newest move.
“The 32 percent tariff Taiwan faces went beyond what the market had expected, in particular after TSMC pledged (in March) to pour an additional US$100 billion into Arizona in support of Trump’s advocacy for investment in the U.S. market,” Huang said.
TSMC, the most heavily weighted stock here, plunged 10 percent to close at NT$848.00, contributing more than 750 points to the Taiex’s decline and contributing to a 9.71 percent decline in the electronics index.
“Orders to sell an additional 68 million TSMC shares failed to find buyers today. More selling will follow after the market opens tomorrow as investors fear Trump’s tariffs will boost inflation and lead to a recession,” Huang said.
Among other semiconductor stocks that also fell 10 percent, smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc. ended at NT$1,295.00, contract chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp. closed at NT$40.75, and memory chip supplier Nanya Technology Corp. ended at NT$37.00.
Second to TSMC in terms of market value, iPhone assembler and artificial intelligence server supplier Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. and another AI server maker, Quanta Computer Inc., also fell by the maximum 10 percent to NT$138.50 and NT$210.00, respectively.
Huang said non-tech heavyweights also came under heavy pressure, pushing the Taiex down further.
Also falling 10 percent, Formosa Plastics Corp., Nan Ya Plastics Corp., Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp. and Formosa Petrochemical Corp. closed at NT$34.40, NT$28.30, NT$24.90 and NT$33.95, respectively.
In addition, textile brand Far Eastern New Century Corp. and China Steel Corp., the largest steel maker in Taiwan, also shed 10 percent to end at NT$30.45 and NT$20.60, respectively.
In the financial sector, which lost 9.89 percent, Fubon Financial Holding Co. and Cathay Financial Holding Co. plunged by the maximum to close at NT$78.90 and NT$55.50, respectively, while Chang Hwa Commercial Bank ended down 9.14 percent at NT$16.40.
Only some telecom stocks appeared resilient, Huang said, with Chunghwa Telecom Co. down 4.62 percent to close at NT$124.00, Taiwan Mobile Co. down 2.59 percent at NT$113.00, and Far EasTone Telecommunications Co. down 4.64 percent to close at NT$88.40.
“There are few signs of any immediate rebound as the Taiex, which resumed trading today after the last session on April 2, needs to incur more losses to match global volatility,” Huang said. “So a similar trading pattern is likely for tomorrow.”
Measures to curb short selling were put in place before trading Monday and will remain in effect through Friday in a bid to calm the market, though it made little impact Monday.
According to the TWSE, foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$16.82 billion in shares Monday.
