On the 15th the TAIEX fell 1,655.96 points, or 3.41%, to close at 46,969.87, the sixth-largest single-day point drop; its intraday low was 46,795.38, losing the monthly moving average and the 47,000 mark (CNA). Foreign investors net sold NT$302.555 billion and proprietary traders net sold NT$95.824 billion, both single-day records for net selling, while investment trusts net bought NT$28.303 billion, so the three major institutional investors combined net sold NT$370.076 billion (CNA). The margin financing balance was about NT$646.415 billion, down about NT$5.141 billion (CNA). The NT dollar closed at 32.265, down NT$0.192, having weakened by as much as NT$0.379 intraday; turnover on the Taipei foreign exchange market was US$7.03 billion, and with Yuan Tai Foreign Exchange Brokerage added it was US$9.115 billion, the largest ever (CNA). The Financial Supervisory Commission said the drop in Taiwan stocks ranks in the middle among Asian markets and that it will watch closely (CNA, Liberty Times). The Nikkei closed down nearly 5% and the KOSPI fell 7.57% (CNA).
Foreign investors are the large buyers and sellers in Taiwan stocks, so record single-day net selling together with a sharp fall in the NT dollar suggests money is not only leaving stocks but also being converted into U.S. dollars and sent abroad. The TAIEX's weighting is concentrated in tech and the AI supply chain, so once U.S. inflation, rate-hike expectations and AI debt worries weigh on tech stocks, Taiwan stocks and the NT dollar come under pressure together. Margin financing is borrowing to buy shares, and when prices fall sharply holders may be forced to sell, deepening the decline.
If you hold Taiwan stocks or ETFs, or have U.S.-dollar expenses (study abroad, travel, imports), both the sharp fall and the currency swings on the 15th matter to you. A one-day drop is not a trend, and no one can guarantee a rebound or a further decline today; make investment decisions according to your own risk tolerance. This is not buy or sell advice.
The more optimistic view holds that TSMC's investor conference showed strong profit and outlook, that institutional investors had earlier said companies' September revenues were hitting records together and there is real buying below the market, and that retail investors and investment trusts bought against the trend, with net subscriptions to 0050 at a record (CNA, Liberty Times).
The more cautious view holds that with days of heavy foreign selling, a record-volume fall in the NT dollar and margin financing still facing pressure to shrink, plus hot U.S. PPI and CPI readings and unresolved AI debt worries, short-term volatility may continue (CNA, Reuters).
Read the day as three numbers: a 3.41% drop in the index, NT$302.555 billion of foreign net selling and a NT$0.192 fall in the NT dollar. They move together, but none alone explains the cause. What we can confirm is the tech-stock selling after the U.S. CPI and the simultaneous fall in Asian stocks; what we cannot confirm is how long the foreign selling will last. Today, watch three things: whether the good news from TSMC's investor conference can halt the selling, whether foreign investors keep selling, and what the central bank does in the currency market.
CNA · Liberty Times · ETtoday Finance · Yahoo News · United Daily News · Commercial Times (Oct. 14–15)
Foreign investors' net selling of NT$302.555 billion in one day is the largest ever as Taiwan stocks plunge 1,655.96 points to close at 46,969.87; NT dollar at one point weakens by more than NT$0.37, closes down NT$0.192
After the hot U.S. September CPI and a 4.3% plunge in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index on the 14th, Asian stocks sold off across the board on the 15th, and Taiwan stocks lost both the 47,000 level and the monthly moving average. TSMC released record quarterly results in the afternoon, and U.S. tech stocks were still weak intraday on the 15th (the market had not yet closed); which way Taiwan stocks open today will be known only when trading actually begins.
Taiwan stocks opened low and slid lower on the 15th. The TAIEX ended down 1,655.96 points, or 3.41%, at 46,969.87, the sixth-largest single-day point drop; its intraday low was 46,795.38, at one point down 1,830.45 points, losing both the monthly moving average of 48,041 and the round 47,000 mark, on turnover of NT$1.31977 trillion (CNA). The three major institutional investors combined net sold NT$370.076 billion: foreign investors, including mainland Chinese funds, net sold NT$302.555 billion and proprietary traders net sold NT$95.824 billion, both single-day records for net selling, and only investment trusts bucked the trend with net buying of NT$28.303 billion (CNA). The Taiwan Stock Exchange's evening data put the margin financing balance at about NT$646.415 billion, down about NT$5.141 billion from the day before, and institutional investors think margin financing still faces pressure to shrink further (CNA). The Liberty Times reported that foreign investors have net sold more than NT$600 billion over the past 7 trading days, and separately that Yuanta Taiwan 50 (0050) took in net subscriptions of NT$32.8 billion that day, a record (both single-source). The Financial Supervisory Commission said the 3.41% drop ranks in the middle among Asian markets and that it will keep a close watch on international markets and Taiwan stocks (CNA, Liberty Times).
The currency market was hit at the same time. The NT dollar weakened by as much as NT$0.379 intraday on the 15th before exporters and the central bank stepped in to smooth the move and the loss narrowed; it closed at 32.265, down NT$0.192. Turnover on the Taipei foreign exchange market was US$7.03 billion, and with Yuan Tai Foreign Exchange Brokerage included the total reached US$9.115 billion, the largest ever (CNA). The Liberty Times said the NT dollar is down 2.56% so far this year, the weakest currency in Asia (single-source). Other Asian markets fell harder: the Nikkei closed down nearly 5% and South Korea's KOSPI fell 7.57%, with a circuit breaker triggered on both the KOSPI and the KOSDAQ that day, and South Korea's Financial Services Commission called an emergency meeting (CNA). The trigger was the U.S. September CPI, up 3.7% from a year earlier and above expectations, which made markets fear a Federal Reserve rate hike; the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunged 4.3% on the 14th and TSMC's ADR fell 3.4% (CNA, Liberty Times, Yahoo News). In the afternoon TSMC reported third-quarter results, with revenue and profit both at records (see right column), but ETtoday and Yahoo News reported that TSMC's share price still fell NT$50 on the 15th. Whether the foreign selling has stopped depends on today's open and the afternoon's fund flows.