TSMC falls below NT$1,000 mark as Taiwan shares end lower

Taipei, March 10 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan came under pressure Monday as the bellwether electronics sector, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Inc. (TSMC) continued to tumble, dragged down by concerns over a possible recession in the United States, dealers said.

The Taiex, the Taiwan Stock Exchange's benchmark weighted index, ended down 116.92 points, or 0.52 percent, at 22,459.15 after moving between 22,407.57 and 22,641.25. Turnover totaled NT$337.99 billion (US$10.27 billion).

The market opened down 0.12 percent and pressure increased as investors reacted to the downward trend in after-hours trading on American markets after U.S. President Donald Trump declined to rule out a recession in a Fox News interview overnight, dealers said.

"Fears over a recession have been simmering in the market and Trump's reaction in the interview simply brought the issue to the fore, impacting sentiment," Mega International Investment Services analyst Alex Huang said.

Huang was referring to the Fed Atlanta GDPNow tracker that recently projected U.S. economic growth falling to negative territory in the first quarter.

"Selling on the Taiex focused on large tech stocks led by TSMC amid concerns that the chipmaker's new plan to invest an additional US$100 billion in Arizona will erode its profit margin," Huang said.

TSMC, the most heavily weighted stock on the exchange, lost 0.70 percent to close at NT$998.00, the first time it had closed below the NT$1,000 level since it ended at NT$996.00 on Nov. 29, 2024.

The fall contributed about 56 points to the Taiex's decline and helped send the electronics index 0.80 percent lower.

Among other semiconductor stocks, smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc. lost 4.78 percent to end at NT$1,395.00, and IC packaging and testing service provider ASE Technology Holding Co. closed 0.92 percent lower at NT$161.00.

Meanwhile, memory chip supplier Nanya Technology Corp. ended down 1.50 percent at NT$39.35.

Second to TSMC in terms of market value, iPhone assembler and AI server maker Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. closed unchanged at NT$172.00, while Quanta Computer Inc., another AI server supplier, rose 1.16 percent to end at NT$261.00.

With tech stocks largely in the doldrums, buying rotated to select raw material stocks, Huang said.

With the steel industry up 0.65 percent, China Steel Corp. rose 1.86 percent to close at NT$24.79 and Chung Hung Steel Corp. gained 1.61 percent to end at NT$25.25.

In addition, Universal Cement Corp. added 0.50 percent to close at NT$30.15, and rival TCC Group Holdings Ltd. ended up 0.72 percent at NT$34.75.

In the financial sector, which rose 0.03 percent, Cathay Financial Holding Co. closed unchanged at NT$67.30, while Fubon Financial Holding Co. ended down 0.22 percent at NT$90.70.

"Trump's tariff policies will keep dictating market sentiment," Huang said. "But the silver lining is that government-led funds are expected to lend support as they have done in recent sessions."

According to the Taiwan Stock Exchange, foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$28.72 billion in shares on the market Monday.