Taipei:Shares in Taiwan plummeted over 1,500 points on Thursday morning, driven by significant losses across major Asian markets and Wall Street due to renewed concerns about inflation. Market analysts reported a sell-off that was heavily influenced by fears of a more aggressive monetary policy stance by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
According to Focus Taiwan, the Taiex, which is the benchmark index for the Taiwan Stock Exchange, had fallen 1,612.82 points, or 3.32 percent, reaching 47,013.01 as of 1114 a.m. The decline was predominantly led by large-cap technology stocks following the release of U.S. inflation data that exceeded expectations, suggesting potential interest rate hikes.
On Wednesday, the U.S. reported a consumer price index increase of 3.7 percent for September, slightly above the anticipated 3.6 percent. This data has heightened expectations of an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve, causing a ripple effect that led to a sell-off on U.S. markets and subsequently on Asian markets Thursday morning.
In Taipei, the electronics index saw a decline of 3.63 percent, significantly impacting the Taiex. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), which holds over 40 percent of the market's total capitalization, saw its shares drop by 2.01 percent to NT$2,440.00. Nanya Technology Corp. experienced a sharp decline of 9.16 percent to NT$436.50, while MediaTek Inc. fell by 5.92 percent to NT$4,210.00.
Other tech stocks also suffered, with Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. decreasing by 1.85 percent to NT$238.50, and Delta Electronics Inc. experiencing a fall of 8.40 percent to NT$1,635.00. The focus remained on technology stocks as concerns about rising financing costs for AI-related developers due to potential interest rate hikes continued to mount.