Taiwan Stocks Plunge Over 2,600 Points in Early Trade; TSMC Drops NT$135

(Central News Agency reporters Jiang Mingyan and Zhang Jianzhong, Taipei, 8th) Following a sharp drop in US stocks, Taiwan's stock market plunged over 2,600 points in early trading on Monday, breaking below its monthly moving average to around 42,389 points. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) opened with a gap down of NT$135 to NT$2,230, marking the largest single-day point drop in its history. Market concerns that the AI rally might be ending prematurely due to interest rate cuts led to a sharp decline in US stocks last Friday, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index falling 10.26%. South Korean stocks also fell over 8% in early trade on Monday. Taiwan's market followed suit with a heavy sell-off. TSMC, the heavyweight stock, saw its market capitalization shrink by NT$3.5 trillion to NT$57.82 trillion. Other key stocks such as Yageo, ASE Technology, Hon Hai Precision Industry, and Delta Electronics all fell by around 7%. (Editor: Pan Yijing) 1150608