Taiex registers record single-day drop

Taipei, April 19 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan suffered a record single-day drop on Friday amid rising tensions in the Middle East and despite Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) reporting its highest-ever first-quarter sales a day earlier.

The Taiex, the Taiwan Stock Exchange's benchmark weighted index, ended down a record 774.08 points, or 3.81 percent, at 19,527.12 after dipping as low as 19,291.88. Turnover was NT$704.79 billion (US$21.67 billion).

Soon after opening, the Taiex began falling and plunged 1,009.32 points in the mid-morning session, the second-highest mid-session fall in its history.

The biggest single-day mid-session fall, 1,417.86 points, took place on May 12, 2021, when the pandemic was becoming more serious in Taiwan and triggered panic selling.

Despite Friday's fall of 774.08 points being a record high, in terms of percentage, the 3.81 percent change was not in the Taiex top 10 due to its current high base value.

The five-day moving average this week fell 1,209.45 points, ending a four-week streak of the five-day moving average rising.

Stocks by industry

By industry, the electronics sector fell by 4.95 percent, while financial industry stocks fell by 1.67 percent. Only transportation stocks, construction stocks, and green energy stocks rose.

In terms of individual stocks, TSMC's conference a day earlier appeared to not impress investors, with its stocks falling 6.72 percent to close at NT$750.

● TSMC Q1 net profit up 8.9% year-on-year

● Clients to share U.S. costs, maintain TSMC's long-term margin

Stocks including iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. and power management solutions provider Delta Electronics both fell more than 3 percent, while smartphone IC designer MediaTek plunged 5.43 percent to end at NT$993.

Among AI-related stocks, AI server makers Wistron Corp. and Quanta Computer Inc. both closed down between 2 and 3 percent, while Wistron's cloud application subsidiary, Wiwynn Corp, plunged 7.4 percent.

Giga-Byte Technology Co, a leading graphics card vendor for AI applications, also lost 3.15 percent to close at NT$292.

Regarding transportation stocks, Evergreen Marine Corp. gained 2.68 percent to end at NT$172.5 and Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. rose 3.08 percent to close at NT$45.15.