Taiwan shares slip as AI warnings weigh on electronics
Taiwan's benchmark Taiex index closed down 0.77% at 45,511.49 on September 15, dragged lower by electronics stocks after the heads of three US artificial intelligence companies warned of risks and urged a slowdown in development, Focus Taiwan reported on September 15.
The Taipei market has become one of the most exposed in Asia to sentiment around AI spending, with chipmakers and server assemblers supplying the bulk of the hardware behind the global build-out. The warnings from the chief executives of Anthropic, OpenAI and xAI knocked AI-linked shares in New York overnight, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropping 5.86%.
The Taiex shed 351.03 points after trading between 45,491.97 and 46,009.85. Turnover reached TWD603.45bn ($18.99bn). The index had already fallen 0.70% the previous session.
"The local main board had already reflected the warnings from the three AI executives yesterday, and selling continued today after AI-related stocks in the United States plunged overnight," said Cathay Futures Consultant analyst Tsai Ming-han.
"But the selling pressure was not overwhelming, as AI investment has continued with no changes in fundamentals," Tsai said. "So TSMC, one of the major AI stocks, remained resilient, keeping the Taiex from falling further."
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, which accounts for more than 40% of the market's value, rose 0.21% to TWD2,385.00 even as the electronics index fell 0.65%. ASE Technology Holding Co lost 3.27% to TWD592.00, MediaTek Inc fell 2.85% to TWD4,430.00 and Nanya Technology Corp closed 1.59% lower at TWD465.50.
At the same time, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co eased 0.80% to TWD246.50, while Quanta Computer Inc added 0.15% to TWD333.00. Delta Electronics Inc gained 3.27% to TWD1,670.00.
The financial sector fell 1.10%, reversing the previous day's 1.94% gain. Fubon Financial Holding Co dropped 1.95% and Cathay Financial Holding Co lost 2.22%.
Foreign institutional investors sold a net TWD62.70bn worth of shares on the main board, according to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
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