Taiwan share prices plunged 6.3 percent after the stock market opened Thursday amid concerns that the terrorist attacks in the United States would prolong an already protracted economic slowdown.
The Weighted Price Index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange shed 261.22 points to 3,915.71 points, plummeting close to the 7 percent limit share prices were allowed to rise or fall in a single day. On Tuesday, the index shed 2.6 percent.
Taiwan's Finance Minister Yen Ching-chang (顏慶章) ordered the stocks and futures markets closed Wednesday since the markets were ``extremely sensitive'' and tended to overreact to such market-moving news as terrorist attacks.
Yen had said that a massive sell-off was ``unlikely,'' adding that the government would not use the national stock stabilization fund to buffer the falling index. The fund was established last year to curb panic selling on non-economic factors.
Turnover was valued at NT$4.7 billion.
Losers outnumbered gainers 514 to 10, with 10 issues unchanged.
Share prices fell across the board, with transportation issues down the most. The electronics index, which accounts for more than half of total market capitalization, shed 6.2 percent.
High-tech heavyweights plunged the near daily limit early Thursday, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's largest chip subcontractor, falling 6.35 percent to NT$59 per share.
United Microelectronics Corp., Taiwan's second largest, shed 6.75 percent to NT$35.90. Together, both stocks account for about 20 percent of the big board's value.
Acer Inc., Taiwan's largest PC maker, fell 6.77 percent to NT$11.70 per share.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source