TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's stock market plunged 130.27 points Tuesday (Oct. 14) after opening with a dramatic 550-point surge that quickly evaporated during volatile trading. The Taiwan Stock Exchange Capitalization Weighted Stock Index (TAIEX), Taiwan's main stock benchmark, closed at 26,793.15 points despite Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC, 台積電) hitting a record high of NT$1,460 (around US$47.56). The semiconductor giant's shares later settled at NT$1,425 (around US$46.42) as market momentum shifted throughout the session.
Monday's robust U.S. market rebound initially fueled widespread optimism across Taiwan's trading floors, with TAIEX opening 358.68 points higher at 27,282.10 points and reaching an impressive intraday peak of 27,507.16 points. Trump (川普) contributed significantly to the early recovery momentum by downplaying escalating U.S.-China trade tensions through social media posts, assuring global investors that everything would ultimately be fine despite ongoing geopolitical concerns.
Major heavyweight stocks MediaTek (聯發科) and Foxconn (鴻海) closed significantly lower at NT$1,305 (around US$42.53) and NT$206 (around US$6.71) respectively, dragging down the broader market despite early optimism. The previous trading session saw Taiwan's weighted index close at 26,923.42 points, reflecting a substantial drop of 378.50 points, representing a 1.39 percent decline that set a cautious tone for Tuesday's volatile trading.
The technology sector received a significant boost from a strategic partnership announcement between artificial intelligence leader OpenAI and semiconductor giant Broadcom, driving TSMC's American depositary receipts up nearly 8 percent in overnight trading. Major U.S. indices posted impressive gains with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 587.98 points, the Nasdaq Composite climbing 490.178 points, and the S&P 500 increasing by 102.21 points, creating positive momentum that initially carried into Asian markets. ◼ (At time of reporting, US$1 equals approximately NT$30.683)
