Taiwan Index Falls 0.83% After Record 1,885.72-Point Swing

Key Facts

Taiwan's TAIEX ended Wednesday's session on 4 November at 42,948.91 points, down 358.63 points, or 0.83%, after moving between 41,855.82 and 43,741.54 points, according to Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA). The gap between the session high and low was 1,885.72 points, making it one of the index's most volatile sessions. The index fell during trading to its lowest level in more than three months before recovering some of its losses. CNA said the emergence of preliminary U.S. midterm election results eased some investor concerns. The close remained below Tuesday's session, but followed a notable rebound from the intraday low.

The wide trading range was also reflected in the closing pattern: the index left a lower shadow of 1,093.09 points after buy orders entered the market in the afternoon, according to CNA. Trading value reached 1,176,930,442,854 New Taiwan dollars, compared with 1,002,035,660,990 dollars on 3 November, according to Taiwan Stock Exchange data. The index had closed the previous session at 43,307.54 points. The increase in trading value between the two sessions points to greater market activity during the decline and rebound. The move followed a drop in the index the previous day, when it ended trading below its prior close.

CNA quoted an investment analyst as saying buying began around midday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would work with Democrats. The analyst added that the TAIEX's fall below 42,000 points created selective buying opportunities in AI-related semiconductor stocks. The appetite was also linked to better-than-expected results announced overnight by AMD and AI server maker Supermicro. Selective buying was reflected in mixed performance among major stocks: MediaTek rose 1.09% to 3,715 New Taiwan dollars, and ASE Technology Holding gained 1.79% to 627 dollars. By contrast, TSMC fell 1.53% to 2,260 dollars, despite recovering from a session low of 2,235 dollars.

Sector indexes reflected the breadth of the decline and its narrowing before the close. The electronics sector index fell as much as 3.74% during the session before narrowing its loss to 1% at the close, according to CNA. The financial sector index fell about 2% during trading before ending the session down 0.71%. The performance of the two sectors showed that the recovery extended beyond technology stocks, although electronics still posted larger losses at the close. The move came in a session when the broader index fell despite gains in some chip stocks and companies in the AI supply chain.

The U.S. elections remained part of the backdrop to investors' assessment of Asian assets, with attention on the impact of the results on AI and data center policies. The Associated Press reported that some Asian markets temporarily fell amid concerns that Democrats could slow AI expansion over safety considerations and local opposition to data centers. An analyst at Capital Economics said Democratic gains would do little to change the short-term policy outlook because the party lacks a majority sufficient to block the Senate, while the president has veto power. In Taiwan, CNA said investors assessed the elections and that the emergence of preliminary results eased some uncertainty; the analyst also linked the start of buying to Trump's statement about working with Democrats. This does not establish that the elections alone caused the volatility, which also coincided with moves in technology stocks and U.S. corporate results.

The session followed a sharp market decline: on 3 November, foreign institutional investors were net sellers of 107.31 billion New Taiwan dollars in stocks on the main market, according to Taiwan Stock Exchange data cited by CNA. The following day, Taiwan's National Development Council minister said the impact of concerns over heavy AI spending on the stock market was likely to be short-lived, citing the strength of export orders and financing among local companies. In a separate assessment published on 3 November, an analyst said the index had become technically weaker after that day's losses and that a further decline could test the 29 July low of 39,384 points. This remains an analytical signal issued before the session, while trading on 4 November showed buyers entering at lower levels and a partial recovery before the close. ADP's October report, meanwhile, was scheduled for release on 10 November, according to the company's official page, not on 4 November.