Shares in Taiwan closed in negative territory on the first trading day of the new year, pulled down by a fall on Wall Street at the end of last week and cautious sentiment ahead of the Jan. 16 presidential and legislative elections, dealers said.
The market was also caught in a downward spiral seen around Asia, triggered by a heavy sell-off in China that forced the suspension of trading in Shanghai.
The TAIEX closed down 223.80 points, or 2.68 percent, at 8,114.26, after moving between 8,109.09 and 8,326.33. Turnover totaled a relatively low NT$76 billion (US$2.29 billion) during the session.
Photo: AFP
It was the biggest fall on the first trading day of a new year on the Taiwan Stock Exchange since 1999.
Hua Nan Securities Co (華南永昌投顧) chairman David Chu (儲祥生) said the sell-off followed a 1.02 percent drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average in the US on Thursday last week.
Many investors are staying on the sidelines ahead of the elections, given the uncertainties in the market, he said.
The abolishment of the capital gains tax on profits from trading stocks, which was passed by the Legislative Yuan in November last year and took effect yesterday, led to heavy selling of several stocks that went public last year.
OBI Pharma Inc (浩鼎), the most expensive stock in the biotech sector, which rose from its listing price of NT$310 per share in March last year to its recent level of more than NT$600, closed 7.2 percent lower at NT$608.
Financial stocks dropped 3.52 percent yesterday.
In China, the worst-ever start to a year triggered a trading halt in more than US$7 trillion of equities, futures and options, putting the nation’s new market circuit breakers to the test on their first day.
Trading was halted at about 1:34pm after the CSI 300 Index dropped 7 percent. An earlier 15-minute suspension at the 5 percent level failed to stop the retreat, with shares extending losses as soon as the market reopened.
Traders said the halts took effect as anticipated without any major technical problems.
The world’s second-largest stock market began the year on a down note after data showed manufacturing contracted for a fifth straight month and investors anticipated the end of a ban on share sales by major stakeholders at the end of this week.
Under the circuit breaker rules finalized last month, a move of 5 percent in the CSI 300 triggers a 15-minute halt for stocks, options and index futures, while a move of 7 percent closes the market for the rest of the day.
The CSI 300 fell as much as 7.02 percent before trading was suspended. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 6.9 percent.
The sell-off rippled throughout the region. Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed down 3.1 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index finished 2.68 percent lower, South Korea’s KOSPI closed 2.17 percent lower and Singapore’s Straits Times Index finished down 1.47 percent.
‘UPHOLDING PEACE’: Taiwan’s foreign minister thanked the US Congress for using a ‘creative and effective way’ to deter Chinese military aggression toward the nation The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, aimed at deterring Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by threatening to publish information about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials’ “illicit” financial assets if Beijing were to attack. The act would also “restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials,” the text of the legislation says. The bill was introduced in January last year by US representatives French Hill and Brad Sherman. After remarks from several members, it passed unanimously. “If China chooses to attack the free people of Taiwan, [the bill] requires the Treasury secretary to publish the illicit
A senior US military official yesterday warned his Chinese counterpart against Beijing’s “dangerous” moves in the South China Sea during the first talks of their kind between the commanders. Washington and Beijing remain at odds on issues from trade to the status of Taiwan and China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions, but they have sought to re-establish regular military-to-military talks in a bid to prevent flashpoint disputes from spinning out of control. Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, and Wu Yanan (吳亞男), head of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command, talked via videoconference. Paparo “underscored the importance
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
RSS