TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's stock market plummeted by 2,129 points at Monday's opening (April 7), crashing to the limit-down threshold of 19,167 points amid a wave of panic selling. Market heavyweights TSMC (台積電), Hon Hai (鴻海), and MediaTek (聯發科) all opened sharply lower, quickly hitting their daily limit-down prices of NT$848 (about US$25.54), NT$138.5 (about US$4.17), and NT$1,295 (about US$39.01) respectively.
U.S. President Donald Trump's recent reciprocal tariff measures, announced on April 2, have triggered widespread turbulence across global financial markets. The ripple effects have now reached Taiwan's exchange, unleashing a torrent of panic selling and stop-loss orders. Artificial intelligence sector leaders were not spared, with Quanta (廣達) and Wistron (緯創) both plunging to their limit-down prices of NT$210 (about US$6.33) and NT$90.9 (about US$2.74) respectively.
Today's market reopening following the four-day Tomb-Sweeping Festival holiday confronted investors with the full force of a global market slump triggered by U.S. reciprocal tariffs. The dramatic sell-off marks Taiwan's worst trading day since Aug. 5, 2024, when escalating U.S.-China trade tensions drove the weighted index down by 1,807.21 points. Today's decline, however, has already surpassed that figure, representing the largest single-day point drop in the exchange's history.
Sherman Lin (林修銘), chairman of the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation (TWSE, 證交所), attempted to calm nerves before the market opened by addressing investors directly. He urged market participants to maintain rationality despite the extreme volatility, emphasizing the fundamental resilience of Taiwanese companies and the historically strong, mutually beneficial economic relationship between the United States and Taiwan.