Taiex posts 4th largest fall as Middle East war causes oil price spike

Taipei, March 9 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan posted their fourth steepest point fall Monday, plunging almost 1,500 points, with market sentiment spooked by a spike in international crude oil prices amid the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, dealers said.

The Taiex, the Taiwan Stock Exchange's (TWSE) benchmark index, ended down 1,489.12 points, or 4.43 percent, at 32,110.42 after moving between 31,529.36 and 32,354.61. Turnover totaled NT$808.33 billion (US$25.35 billion).

The market opened down more than 1,200 points and selling escalated, with the Taiex dropping 2,070.28 points or 6.16 percent at one point, as investors reacted to heavy losses on stock markets around the world amid rising worries about inflation in the wake of skyrocketing oil prices, dealers said.

Selling was seen across the board on the Taiex before some bargain hunters emerged as the index fell below 32,000 points to cap the losses. However, Monday's point fall was still the fourth largest on record after 2,065.87 on April 7, 2025, 1,807.21 on Aug. 5, 2024 and 1,494.77 on March 3, 2026.

With crude prices surpassing US$100 a barrel, "panic selling followed on stock markets at home and abroad. The geopolitical unease has triggered a systemic crisis," Moore Securities Investment Consulting Adam Lin said.

"A spike in crude prices has raised fears over inflation and the global economy," Lin said. "So, tech stocks fell victim to the sell-off, plunging the broader market."

In the electronics sector, which lost 4.89 percent, contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), which accounts for over 40 percent of total market value, shed 4.23 percent to close at NT$1,810.00, contributing over 600 points to the Taiex's fall.

In addition, smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc. lost 5.57 percent to end at NT$1,665.00 and IC packaging and testing service provider ASE Technology Holding Co. shed 6.43 percent to close at NT$320.00.

Elsewhere in the tech sector, AI server maker and iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. lost 5.61 percent to close at NT$210.50, and power management solution provider Delta Electronics Inc. slid 7.58 percent to end at NT$1,220.00.

Selling spread to nontech stocks with the financial sector down 2.01 percent. Cathay Financial Holding Co. lost 4.11 percent to close at NT$70.00, and Fubon Financial Holding Co. ended down 1.80 percent at NT$87.20, Lin said.

Old economy stocks largely moved in line with the Taiex though there were some exceptions in the transportation industry as the war has led to higher shipping fares, Lin said. Shares in container shipper Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. rose 1.48 percent to close at NT$61.60, and rival Wan Hai Lines Ltd. gained 3.18 percent to end at NT$81.00.

Rising crude prices cut both ways as some petrochemical stocks moved higher on hopes of rising product prices with Taita Chemical Co. surging 10 percent, the maximum daily increase, to close at NT$15.30, and China General Plastics Corp. up 6.04 percent to end at NT$14.05. In contrast, Formosa Plastics Corp. fell 5.68 percent to close at NT$47.35.

"With no immediate signs of an end to the war, volatility on the stock markets could continue," Lin said. "I expect the Taiex to see technical support around the 60-day moving average of 30,756 points."

According to the TWSE, foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$120.82 billion of shares on the main board Monday, the largest daily net sale in history.