Brace for Taiwan stock market turbulence over Trump tariff: Premier

Taipei, April 4 (CNA) Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Friday said people in Taiwan should be ready to brace for turbulence brought by U.S. President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff when the local stock market reopens on Monday.

Cho made the remarks during a news conference in Taipei where the Cabinet unveiled its plans to support Taiwanese exporters in the global supply chain in response to the "reciprocal tariff" Trump announced in Washington on Wednesday (U.S. EDT).

The premier said that Taiwan's central bank and the Financial Supervisory Commission are looking into foreign exchange rates, as Trump factored in currency manipulation in the reciprocal tariff he announced. Taiwan is set to face a 32 percent tariff announced by the U.S. president.

On the issue of tariffs, Cho said the government will continue discussions with businesses and come up with responses that cover all aspects in a bid to have things under control on Monday.

Before Trump announced a sweeping hike of import tax on foreign goods aimed at what he sees as unbalanced trade the United States faces, shares in Taiwan closed little changed on Wednesday, with the benchmark weighted index, Taiex, closed at 21,298.22 before a four-day holiday began on Thursday.

While financial markets in Taiwan closed for Tomb Sweeping Day and Children's Day, U.S. stocks tumbled on Thursday, with the S&P 500 recording "its worst day since the pandemic crashed the economy in 2020" with a 4.8-percent loss, according to Associated Press.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1,679 points, or 4 percent, and the Nasdaq composite tumbled 6 percent, while chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) saw its American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) listed on the New York Stock Exchange plummet over 7 percent.

At over 35.67 percent, TSMC is the component stock on the Taiex with the highest weighting, data published by the Taiwan Stock Exchange on March 31 showed.

The government will seek to provide assurance to people in Taiwan, but everybody needs to be ready for a shock, Cho said.