TSMC stocks hit record intraday low as Taiex plunges over 2,600 points

Taiwanese shares plummeted during early trading on Monday as a severe sell-off on Wall Street triggered a massive wave of selling in Taipei. The benchmark Taiex instantly breached its 20-day moving average, tumbling to around 42,389 points shortly after the opening bell. The sharp market contraction followed mounting global concerns that prolonged high interest rates could stall the recent artificial intelligence-driven market rally.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), which holds the heaviest weight on the local exchange, led the market downward with a historic decline. The chipmaker opened down NT$135 (USD 4.28) and fell to NT$2,230 (~USD 71).

As per the news report, this plunge marked the largest-ever intraday price decline for the tech giant. The sudden drop wiped approximately NT$3.5 trillion (~USD 111 billion) off the market capitalization of TSMC, reducing the overall value of the company to NT$57.82 trillion (~USD 1.84 trillion).

The steep losses in Taipei closely mirrored the Friday panic on Wall Street, where investors openly expressed anxieties that elevated interest rates might bring an earlier-than-expected end to the AI-driven boom.

According to the news report, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index tumbled 10.26 per cent on Friday, setting a grim tone for Asian markets over the weekend. The regional tech sell-off quickly expanded beyond Taiwan on Monday morning, with South Korea's benchmark stock index falling more than 8 per cent in early trading.

The downward pressure in Taiwan extended well beyond TSMC, deeply impacting the broader electronics and technology sectors. Major tech heavyweights faced intense selling pressure and recorded uniform losses.

"Shares of Yageo Corp., ASE Technology Holding Co., Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. and Delta Electronics Inc. each dropped about 7 per cent in morning trading," the news report mentioned. (ANI)