Taipei: Shares in Taiwan faced significant pressure, dropping over 1.5 percent as U.S. tariff concerns intensified, particularly affecting the electronics sector.
According to Focus Taiwan, the Taiex, the weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), fell by 352.64 points or 1.51 percent, closing at 22,987.92. Throughout the day, the index fluctuated between 22,985.90 and 23,486.08 with a total turnover of NT$435.32 billion (US$14.81 billion).
The market began the day with a 0.17 percent decrease and maintained a narrow range during the morning session. However, selling pressure ramped up in the afternoon, particularly impacting large-cap tech stocks like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC).
Mega International Investment Services analyst Alex Huang noted that investor sentiment turned negative due to the lack of resolution in ongoing tariff negotiations with the U.S. Investors are concerned that unresolved issues could lead to a high reciprocal tariff of 32 percent for Taiwan, surpassing Japan and South Korea's 25 percent.
Huang observed that the uncertainty surrounding tariffs significantly impacted tech heavyweights such as TSMC, driving daily turnover beyond NT$400 billion. In contrast, the previous day's turnover was only NT$316.35 billion.
TSMC, a major player in the market, saw its stock fall 1.75 percent, closing at NT$1,130.00, contributing approximately 160 points to the Taiex's decline. Despite positive insights from TSMC's recent investor conference, investors opted to secure gains amid tariff uncertainties.
Other semiconductor stocks also faced challenges. Scientech Corp., a supplier for TSMC, declined by 3.98 percent to NT$338.00, while memory chip producer Nanya Technology Corp. dropped 3.34 percent to NT$40.55. Conversely, MediaTek Inc., a smartphone IC designer, saw a slight increase of 0.35 percent to NT$1,430.00.
In the broader tech sector, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., an iPhone assembler and AI server maker, fell 1.82 percent to NT$162.00. AI graphics card vendor Giga-Byte Technology Co. dropped 3.61 percent to NT$280.00.
Huang also highlighted that the tariff issues adversely affected traditional industries, particularly machinery makers. Hiwin Technologies Co. decreased by 2.79 percent to NT$209.00, and Tongtai Machine and Tool Co. fell 2.61 percent to NT$29.90.
Despite the overall downturn, China Steel Corp., Taiwan's largest steel maker, rose 0.20 percent to NT$19.25, and Chung Hung Steel Corp. increased by 1.04 percent to NT$14.60. The financial sector showed resilience with only a slight drop of 0.36 percent. Notably, E. Sun Financial Holding Co. rose 1.68 percent to NT$33.20.
Despite the decline in the Taiex, foreign institutional investors purchased a net NT$10.02 billion worth of shares on the main board Tuesday, as reported by the TWSE.