Taiwan stocks plunge 1057 points, TSMC suffers worst-ever drop

Taiwan's stock market suffered a significant downturn, with the TAIEX index plummeting 1057.05 points to close at 46043.6 on Wednesday. The market opened lower, down 190.67 points at 46909.98, and continued to slide throughout the session, at one point dropping 1281 points and falling below the 46,000 mark.

The sharp decline was largely driven by major technology stocks. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world's largest contract chip manufacturer, experienced its worst-ever stock performance, dropping 100 New Taiwan dollars to close at 2,390 NTD. Other key sectors, including AI, semiconductors, and intellectual property, also saw widespread losses. The financial and traditional industry sectors also pulled back, contributing to the overall market slump.

Despite the broad sell-off, some stocks managed to buck the trend. United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., and companies involved in low-orbit satellites and ABF substrates saw gains, helping to pare back some of the day's losses. However, a large sell order for TSMC in the final trading minutes intensified the downturn. The total market turnover reached a substantial 1.45 trillion New Taiwan dollars.