Taiwan Stock Market Crashes on Black Monday; Multiple Brokerage Systems Overloaded

(Central News Agency, reporter Tseng Jen-Kai, Taipei, 8th) Following a sharp drop in U.S. stocks last Friday, Taiwan stock index futures also plunged in after-hours trading. Today, the Taiwan stock market faced a 'Black Monday,' opening with a drop of nearly 2,700 points, the largest intraday decline in history. Trading volume surged, causing order systems and apps at multiple brokerages to become sluggish, with reports of login difficulties, system busyness, and delayed price quotes.

After the sharp drop in Taiwan index futures last Friday, the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) and the IT departments of major brokerages were on high alert. Over the weekend, the TWSE's Securities Auxiliary Department sent a message to all brokerages, stating, 'Due to changes in the international market, trading on the Taiwan stock market on June 8 will be affected by the sharp drop in U.S. stocks. All securities firms should pay special attention to the stability of their own systems and ensure the smooth operation of important tasks such as consignment trading quota control to maintain market order and avoid affecting investors' rights.'

However, due to the massive trading volume early today, brokerage systems were overwhelmed. On the PTT online forum, users reported that systems at several brokerages, including Yuanta Securities, CSC Securities, and Taishin Securities, were inaccessible or temporarily down.

Brokerages indicated that the backend systems and quote information of many large domestic securities firms are connected through the server room of SysJust (Jia Shi Information). The influx of panic selling and bottom-fishing orders this morning may have caused SysJust's server room to be momentarily overloaded, causing many brokerage clients connected to the system to simultaneously experience difficulties logging in and viewing quotes. (Editor: Pan Yi-Jing) 1150608