The TAIEX yesterday slumped as it widened its decline from a January high to more than 19 percent and is just points away from a so-called bear market.
The index closed 2.7 percent lower yesterday, making it the worst performer in Asia. It was dragged by chipmakers after Bank of America took a cautious view on the industry’s growth prospects.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which accounts for more than one-quarter of the index’s weighting, dropped 3.05 percent to close at NT$476 yesterday.
Photo: Kelson Wang, Taipei Times
The TAIEX tumbled 2.72 percent to 14,825.73.
Facing headwinds of rate hikes by global central banks, tech-heavy stock markets in Taiwan and South Korea have been the worst performers in Asia this quarter, falling more than 15 percent.
Foreign investors net sold about US$16 billion of Taiwanese stocks during the three-month period, the most among emerging markets in Asia excluding China.
Deputy Minister of Finance Juan Ching-hwa (阮清華), executive secretary of the National Financial Stabilization Fund, said the fund would continue to closely monitor the stock market to see whether it needs to step in.
The Taiwan Stock Exchange said in a statement that it would adopt stabilizing measures if there are “irrational” declines in the stock market.
Societe Generale SA yesterday downgraded the nation’s stocks to “underweight” from “neutral,” citing external risks, including tighter financial conditions and fears of slower global growth.
“Global tech stocks are facing P/E [price/earning] re-rating, mainly due to recession and inflation concerns,” Capital Securities Corp (群益金鼎證券) senior manager Diana Wu said. “It’s a global issue, as rate hikes normally hit tech stocks. Investors are withdrawing cash from TSMC and other Taiwan tech stocks.”
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique