Taiwan shares plunge almost 1,000 points amid Fed concerns

Taipei, Nov. 21 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan took a hit Friday, falling almost 1,000 points after heavy losses on the U.S. market as the better-than-expected September U.S. jobs data fueled fears that the Federal Reserve will take a hawkish stance on a rate-cut cycle, dealers said.

The Taiex, the weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), ended down 991.42 points, or 3.61 percent, at 26,434.94 after moving between 26,395.98 and 26,821.97, marking the sixth steepest point fall in history. Turnover totaled NT$549.84 billion (US$17.56 billion).

After jumping more than 800 points on Thursday, "an uptrend on the local main board was reversed by a plunge on the U.S. markets overnight amid renewed concerns over the Fed's next move," Mega International Investment Services analyst Alex Huang said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.84 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index shed 2.05 percent after Washington reported the creation of 119,000 jobs in September, well above a market estimate of 50,000.

"The strong job data prompted investors to think the Fed could stop a rate cut in December, which led tech stocks at home and abroad to lose luster, overshadowing the current frenzy about AI development," Huang said. "It was all about market sentiment instead of fundamentals."

Contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the most heavily weighted stock here, shed 4.81 percent to close at NT$1,385.00, contributing about 560 points to the Taiex's fall.

Smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc. shed 3.38 percent to end at NT$1,145.00, and TSMC's IC assembly equipment supplier Scientech Corp. lost 3.36 percent to close at NT$302.00. Memory chip supplier Nanya Technology Corp. tumbled 10 percent, the maximum daily decline, to end at NT$140.00.

After Nvidia Corp. fell 3.15 percent overnight, AI server maker and iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., second to TSMC in market value, shed 4.86 percent to close at NT$225.00, and rival Quanta Computer Inc. lost 1.46 percent to end at NT$270.00.

"With electronics stocks in weakness, investors parked their money in select nontech stocks as a safe haven," Huang said.

Among them, textile brand Far Eastern New Century Corp. added 0.18 percent to close at NT$28.26, and rival Makalot Industrial Co. gained 3.09 percent to end at NT$300.50. In addition, Shihlin Paper Corp. rose 2.77 percent to close at NT$55.60, and its counterpart YFY Inc. ended up 2.25 percent at NT$27.30.

However, Formosa Plastics Corp. lost 3.15 percent to close at NT$40.00, and Nan Ya Plastics Corp. shed 4.10 percent to end at NT$52.50.

In the financial sector, which lost 0.56 percent, Cathay Financial Holding Co. lost 1.70 percent to close at NT$63.60, and Fubon Financial Holding Co. ended down 0.67 percent at NT$88.70.

"After today's plunge, there is no immediate sign of when the Taiex will climb out of the doldrums. So, keep alert," Huang said.

According to the TWSE, foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$91.54 billion worth of shares on the main board Friday.