Taiwan shares under pressure led by tech stocks after U.S. losses

Taipei, Aug. 19 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan fell more than 1 percent Wednesday, dragged down by the tech sector after U.S. tech stocks plunged overnight amid a spike in Treasury yields, dealers said.

The Taiex, the Taiwan Stock Exchange's benchmark index, ended down 589.33 points, or 1.30 percent, at 44,719.35 after moving between 44,308.71 and 45,071.34. Turnover totaled NT$847.86 billion (US$26.59 billion).

"Today's selloff was largely sparked by higher U.S. bond yields amid inflation worries as investors dumped interest rate-sensitive tech stocks," Moore Securities Investment Consulting analyst Adam Lin said.

"Large-cap semiconductor stocks at home and abroad also fell victim to concerns over their relatively high values," Lin said, referring to a 4.98 percent drop in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index overnight.

The U.S. tech tumble triggered selling in shares of South Korean memory chip suppliers Samsung Electronics Corp. and SK Hynix Inc. on the Korea Exchange and their Taiwanese counterparts followed suit.

Nanya Technology Corp. closed down 6.60 percent at NT$481.00, and Winbond Electronics Corp. fell 4.82 percent to end at NT$168.00.

Other factors also contributed to the downturn.

"Today was the settlement date of August futures contracts," Lin said. "As foreign institutional investors still hold a large chunk of short contracts, they just trimmed tech holdings in the spot market."

Contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), which accounts for over 40 percent of total market value, lost 1.26 percent to close at NT$2,350.00, contributing about 240 points to the Taiex's fall.

iPhone assembler and AI server maker Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. dropped 1.61 percent to end at NT$245.00, and smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc. closed down 1.03 percent at NT$3,845.00.

Power management solution provider Delta Electronics Inc. shed 3.20 percent to end at NT$1,765.00, while passive electronics maker Yageo Corp. appeared resilient, closing unchanged at NT$576.00.

Lin said investors moved their funds to select telecom stocks as safe havens, with Taiwan Mobile Co. rising 2.25 percent to end at NT$113.50, and Far EasTone Telecommunications Co. closing flat at NT$101.50.

Boosted by Intelligent Asia 2026, Taiwan's largest robotics and automation trade show that opened Wednesday, Teco Electric & Machinery Co. ended up 1.13 percent at NT$71.80 and Tatung Co. closed up 0.93 percent at NT$27.00.

Elsewhere in the old economy sector, Formosa Plastics Corp. lost 3.57 percent to end at NT$56.80, and Nan Ya Plastics Corp. closed down 6.25 percent at NT$187.50.

The financial sector moved in line with the Taiex, falling 1.05 percent. Cathay Financial Holding Co. ended down 0.91 percent at NT$98.30, and Fubon Financial Holding Co. closed 0.77 percent lower at NT$128.50.

"Though the Taiex recouped part of its early losses, the index still dipped below the 60-day moving average of 44,800 points," Lin said. "If the index cannot return to that level soon, it is likely to test the next technical support around 44,000 points."

According to the Taiwan Stock Exchange, foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$41.64 billion of shares on the market Wednesday.