Taiwan Falls 2.49% to 45,211.83 as Concerns Grow Over Returns on AI Spending
Key Facts
Taiwan's stock index closed down 2.49% on Friday, October 30, 2026, losing 1,156.50 points to settle at 45,211.83, according to data from Taiwan's Central News Agency published by Focus Taiwan. The decline came as investor concerns that returns on rising artificial intelligence spending may be insufficient weighed on Taiwanese and South Korean stocks, according to a Reuters report. The index recorded its second consecutive daily decline, after falling 1.42% in Thursday's session. Trading value on Friday reached 877.73 billion New Taiwan dollars, equivalent to 26.96 billion U.S. dollars, the report said. The agency said stocks "ended trading down 1,156.50 points, or 2.49%, at 45,211.83"; the closing report did not specify a direct cause for the decline.
Pressure on Taiwan's market extended beyond Thursday's session, when the index fell 667.25 points, or 1.42%, to 46,368.33, according to Focus Taiwan data. Across the two sessions, the index fell from that level to Friday's close of 45,211.83, with a further daily loss of 1,156.50 points. The figures show the daily decline accelerated between the two sessions, with Friday's drop at 2.49% compared with 1.42% the previous day. This coincided with pressure on regional stocks amid investor concerns about whether large-scale AI-related spending can generate returns commensurate with its size. Taiwan's Central News Agency did not attribute the index's decline to heavy selling or any single cause, and reported only the closing and trading data.
A Reuters report linked the pressure on stocks to concerns that returns from the wave of AI spending may not keep pace with the amount of money being directed toward it, prompting investors to move toward safe-haven assets. The steepness of the decline was also evident in South Korea, where the KOSPI fell 5% in the October 30 session, taking its losses during October to more than 17%, according to the report published by MarketScreener. The report placed the performance of Taiwan and South Korea among pressures affecting markets tied to AI investment, with concern focused on the expected returns from those investments. In contrast, an official at Taiwan's National Development Council said recent stock volatility reflected investor concerns, not weak demand for AI. The official cited TrendForce projections that combined capital spending by the world's largest 9 cloud service providers will exceed 1.5 trillion dollars in 2027.
Cloud companies' spending remains in focus as concerns about returns diverge from continued expectations of large capital outlays. The Taiwanese official attributed market turbulence to investor concern about these investments, while saying this did not mean demand for AI technologies was declining, citing projections that combined spending would exceed 1.5 trillion dollars in 2027. In the local market, Friday's data showed trading volume of 877.73 billion New Taiwan dollars, or 26.96 billion U.S. dollars, alongside a drop of more than a thousand points in the index. These figures describe the session's activity and closing level, while the explanation linking pressure to returns on AI investments appeared in Reuters' report on regional markets, not in Taiwan's closing statement itself.
Among upcoming dates related to monitoring the semiconductor sector, TSMC set November 10, 2026, for the release of its October monthly sales, according to its investor financial calendar. The announcement comes after Friday's close and provides a subsequent date for tracking data from a major Taiwanese company in the chip industry. A central focus for the market will remain whether indicators of AI demand and spending ease investor concerns about returns, amid the 2027 capital spending projections cited by the National Development Council.