Shares fell sharply yesterday, as protracted weakness on Wall Street led Asian markets down.
The TAIEX ended down 173.21 points, or 2.9 percent, at 5,715.16, its lowest closing level since it ended at 5,656.17 on Nov. 1.
It was the benchmark index's biggest points fall since sliding 188.13 points on Nov. 22.
Decliners far outnumbered gainers 884 to 61, with 66 stocks ending unchanged.
"The US market hasn't been faring well lately ... it's really hurt confidence," said Stanley Chou, a manager at Barits Securities Co.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.9 percent last Friday to its lowest level since November after disappointing results from IBM Corp and on concerns over the US economic outlook. The NASDAQ Composite Index dropped 2 percent and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index tumbled 3.3 percent.
Among the biggest decliners yesterday were AU Optronics Corp, which fell 4.5 percent to NT$46.80, and Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp, which retreated 3.5 percent to NT$49.60.
Old-economy stocks also retreated.
China Steel Corp, the nation's largest steelmaker, plummeted 4.2 percent to NT$32.20 after a newspaper reported that the Chinese government plans to further rein in steel sector investment.
The report cited unnamed China Steel executives as saying Beijing may implement the tightening measures in this quarter.
Memory-chip maker Powerchip Semiconductor Corp dropped 3.4 percent to NT$24.25 on the over-the-counter exchange, while Nanya Technology Corp fell 5.7 percent to NT$20.55.
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