TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s stock market continued to fall on Tuesday, dragged down by US tariffs and sustained selling pressure after the holiday break.
Markets were catching up after the Tomb Sweeping Festival, which caused a break on Thursday and Friday while global markets, especially in the US, had already declined. Many stocks hit the limit down at Monday’s open, leaving investors unable to sell, causing trading volume to surge Tuesday as those investors finally got their chance.
The Taiwan Stock Exchange Capitalization Weighted Stock Index, or TAIEX, dropped 772.4 points to close at 18,459.95. Turnover reached NT$549 billion (US$16.6 billion), up from NT$147 billion on Monday, per CNA and CTEE.
Most sectors declined, though retail and food stocks rose nearly 4%. Cement, plastics, and financials also gained slightly, each rising over 0.5% late in the session.
Heavily traded electronics fell over 5%, and semiconductor stocks slipped around 4%. Sports, leisure, optoelectronics, and related electronics dropped more than 8–9%, continuing their weak performance.
TSMC’s fall slowed as US tech indexes started to recover. It closed down NT$32 (97 cents) at NT$816, dragging the TAIEX by about 257 points.
MediaTek briefly turned positive, touching NT$1,300, but ended down NT$35 at NT$1,260. UMC rose NT$0.95 to NT$41.7.
Foxconn hit its daily limit, closing at NT$125 after falling NT$13.5 with over 300,000 shares traded. Its market value dropped to NT$1.7 trillion, slipping below MediaTek’s NT$2.01 trillion.
Financial stocks led gains among major players, with Mega Financial and First Financial up over 7.5% and 5.5%. Hua Nan and E.Sun also rose nearly 2.5% and 1.5%.
In traditional industries, Uni-President jumped over 5%, and Chunghwa Telecom rose nearly 2.5%. UMC stood out among tech stocks, reversing losses to gain almost 2.5%.
Cathay Securities Investment Consulting manager Tsai Ming-han (蔡明翰) said trading freedom allows sellers to exit and forced liquidations to complete, which could help stabilize sentiment. This may help funds settle more securely in the market.
Still, Tsai warned it is too soon to call this a rebound, as Wall Street’s performance remains key. With the US market still volatile, investors should watch tariff policy changes.
Tsai also noted that despite some large caps recovering from limit-down levels, 770 listed companies still closed at the limit. Many small and mid-cap stocks on the over-the-counter market stayed stuck at daily limits, suggesting the market is still under pressure.
This information is not intended as personalized financial advice. Investors are encouraged to conduct their own research and analysis before making investment decisions.
