Taiwan shares soar more than 1,600 points on Trump tariff U-turn

Taipei, April 10 (CNA) Taiwan stocks surged more than 1,600 points Thursday morning, recording their biggest ever intraday gain, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on his steep "reciprocal" tariffs on most countries.

The Taiex index jumped 1,615.09 points to 19,006.85 at 9:05 a.m. as three heavyweight stocks -- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), Hon Hai (Foxconn) and MediaTek -- hit their limit-up prices at NT$863.00 (US$26.28), NT$123.50 and NT$1,300.00, respectively.

The gains followed Trump's announcement Wednesday that he was authorizing a 90 day pause and a substantially lower reciprocal tariff of 10 percent for most countries, with immediate effect. The exception was China, he said, announcing an increased tariff of 125 percent on that country.

The announcement sent the United States markets soaring, with the S&P 500 climbing 9.5 percent in its biggest one-day rally since 2008.

TSMC's American depositary receipts (ADRs) also rose 12.29 percent overnight.

In Taipei, TSMC shares skyrocketed to NT$863.00 Thursday on the news of the tariff suspension. The rise added NT$2.02 trillion to the company's share value, which rebound to NT$22.37 trillion, contributing about 628 points to the entire market.