Taipei: Taiwan's benchmark stock index experienced an unprecedented plunge as it dropped 2,953.71 points on Friday, marking the largest single-day point decline in its history. The sell-off, primarily driven by a downturn in artificial intelligence-related shares, negatively impacted U.S. markets and exerted pressure on global equities. According to Focus Taiwan, the Taiex began the session on a lower note at 45,234 points and continued its downward trajectory throughout the day. It eventually closed at 42,671.27, marking a 6.47 percent drop on a turnover of NT$1.21 trillion (US$37.61 billion). This downturn surpassed the previous record point drop of 2,065.87 points, which occurred on April 7 of the previous year following U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of a reciprocal tariff policy. The market decline was led by large-cap stocks, notably Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), which saw its shares fall by NT$180 to close at NT$2,290, a decrease of 7.29 percent. Other significant contrib utors to the sell-off included United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC), Yageo Corp., and Nanya Technology Corp., all of which reached their daily limits. MediaTek Inc. and Delta Electronics Inc. also experienced substantial losses, each nearly 9 percent. The decline was exacerbated by TSMC's prediction of lower profit margins for the upcoming quarter, despite its report of record-high revenue and profit for the previous three months. The three main institutional investors-foreign investors, proprietary traders, and local investment trusts-posted a combined net selling of NT$261.71 billion on Friday. On the broader scale, U.S. stocks fell on Thursday as the sell-off in AI-related companies pulled down major indexes and caused the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index to drop by 4.29 percent.