Taiwan Stocks Drop Nearly 600 Points Mid-day, Testing Monthly Support Line; Memory Stocks Plummet

(Taipei, May 19, CNA) Following declines in major U.S. stock indices, the Taiwan stock market opened lower and fluctuated today, dropping nearly 600 points mid-session to test the monthly support line at around 40,250 points, while defending the 40,000-point mark. Heavyweights like TSMC were weak, and the memory sector plummeted. Ardentec, the second most expensive stock, fell by about 6%, dropping below the NT$10,000 mark mid-day, leaving only the top stock, Shin-Etsu, to hold its ground and breaking the 'dual ten-thousand' situation. As investors interpreted complex signals from peace talks between the U.S. and Iran, Wall Street saw volatile trading, with most major indices closing lower. The Taiwan stock market opened lower today. The index turned positive in early trading but then widened its losses, dropping to 40,300 points mid-day, a fall of about 591 points. Around 11:35 AM, the Taiex was down 388 points at 40,503, a 0.94% decline. The electronics sector fell 1.4%, financials rose 2%, and the TPEx index fell 2.3%. Observing heavyweight stocks, TSMC fell NT$20 to NT$2,220 mid-day, a 0.89% drop. Hon Hai rose over 1%, UMC gained 3.6%, Yageo was flat, MediaTek fell nearly 6%, Delta Electronics dropped nearly 5%, and Largan Precision opened at its limit up before falling to a 2% gain mid-day. Affected by Micron's stock price drop of about 6%, the memory sector plummeted, with Nanya Technology and Winbond Electronics falling over 9%, and Macronix down about 8%. AI benchmark stocks were mixed; Gigabyte fell over 6%. The ABF substrate sector remained stable, with Unimicron, Kinsus, and Nan Ya PCB showing gains, while Zhen Ding Technology surged over 4%. Expectations for the announcement of Android XR smart glasses at the Google I/O developer conference boosted Taiwanese smart glass concept stocks, with Kinko Optical surging over 6% and In-tech Corp up over 3%. Telecom stocks became a safe haven for funds, with Chunghwa Telecom, Far EasTone, and Taiwan Mobile turning stronger. Looking at high-priced stocks, market leader Shin-Etsu fell over 5%, and second-placed Ardentec dropped about 6%, falling below the NT$10,000 mark mid-day, breaking the 'dual ten-thousand' situation. Most high-priced stocks were volatile; Phison, Hongten, Perico, and eMemory hit their lower limit, while Shiny Chemical tested the NT$1,000 level, with the number of 'thousand-dollar' stocks retreating to 48.