Stocks and Forex Tumble; NT Dollar Plummets by 1.05 Jiao to Close at 31.65

(CNA, Reporter Chao Min-ya, Taipei, 19th) With peace talks between the United States and Iran at a stalemate, the market has adopted a strong wait-and-see attitude. Foreign investors have withdrawn funds from the Taiwanese stock market for three consecutive trading days. Today, both the stock and foreign exchange markets fell in tandem. The New Taiwan Dollar broke through the 31.6 integer level, closing at 31.65, a sharp depreciation of 1.05 jiao (NT$0.105), hitting a low of over one month. Total turnover in the Taipei and Gaitame foreign exchange markets exploded to a massive volume of US$3.131 billion. U.S. President Trump stated that at the request of Middle Eastern leaders, he has delayed the planned military attack on Iran scheduled for the 19th. However, if an acceptable agreement cannot be reached, the U.S. military must, as instructed, immediately launch an attack on Iran. The market is concerned about a renewed escalation of tensions in the Middle East, and major U.S. stock indices mostly closed in the red. The Taiwan stock market opened low and fluctuated today, briefly turning positive, but momentum was limited. The index then fell sharply, closing down 716.26 points at 40175.56, falling below the monthly moving average. The three major institutional investors sold a net total of NT$78.409 billion in Taiwanese stocks, with foreign investors slashing NT$63.235 billion. After opening at 31.57 against the U.S. dollar today, the New Taiwan Dollar quickly depreciated past the 31.6 integer level along with foreign capital outflows. The depreciation widened in the afternoon, touching a low of 31.674, and failed to return to the 31.5 level by the close. A foreign exchange trader pointed out that when the NTD depreciated to 31.65, it attracted exporters to enter the market and sell foreign currency, which briefly slowed the depreciation. However, the force of foreign capital outflow increased in the afternoon, and the NTD continued to weaken. As major Asian currencies were also depreciating, the Central Bank did not intervene heavily at the close, allowing the NTD to reflect market trends. The foreign exchange trader stated that in the short term, the trend of the NTD still depends on the Taiwanese stock market and the movement of foreign capital. The net sale of over NT$1189 billion in Taiwanese stocks by foreign investors over the past three trading days has caused the NTD to fall back, and '31.7 will be an important level to watch.' According to Central Bank statistics, major Asian currencies generally weakened today: the South Korean Won fell sharply by 0.62%, the New Taiwan Dollar depreciated by 0.33%, the Chinese Yuan by 0.09%, the Japanese Yen by 0.08%, and the Singapore Dollar by 0.04%. (Editor: Chang Chun-mao) 1150519