Taiwan Stocks Plunge, NT Dollar Falls Over 1.6 Cents to Break 31.6 Level

(Central News Agency, reporter Pan Tzu-yu, Taipei, 8th) Affected by last Friday's US stock market crash and a 3,006-point plunge in Taiwan stock index futures during overnight trading, Taiwan's stock and currency markets experienced a heavy sell-off today. The Taiwan stock market once plunged over 2,600 points, and the New Taiwan dollar fell more than 1.6 cents against the US dollar, falling back to the 31.6 level.

The US stock market collapse triggered market panic, and Asian stocks were battered. Japanese and South Korean stocks fell sharply. Taiwan's stock market opened with a sharp decline, dropping over 2,600 points to a low of 42,376 points.

On the currency front, in addition to the negative factors of the stock market plunge and hot money outflows, the US non-farm payroll data, which was far better than expected, fueled expectations of a US Federal Reserve interest rate hike. The US dollar index stood above the 100 mark, also putting pressure on Asian currencies.

The New Taiwan dollar opened at 31.51 against the US dollar, then fell sharply, breaking through the 31.6 level. It hit a low of 31.64 in early trading, a sharp depreciation of more than 1.6 cents.

Foreign exchange analysts said that the recent trend of the New Taiwan dollar has been dominated by foreign capital. Previously, an influx of hot money pushed the exchange rate to 31.3. Now, with multiple negative factors converging and the Taiwan stock market facing correction pressure from high levels, the sharp depreciation of the New Taiwan dollar was within expectations. In the short term, the market will first observe the extent of today's stock market correction, the reaction of foreign capital, and whether market sentiment stabilizes tomorrow. The stance of the US Federal Reserve on inflation and the economic situation at its June interest rate decision meeting will also influence market sentiment. (Editor: Pan Yi-ching) 1150608