Taipei: Shares in Taiwan ended lower on Wednesday as futures-led selling took a toll, driven by the settlement day of November futures contracts. Investors were particularly cautious ahead of the release of Nvidia Corp.'s quarterly results and guidance for the current quarter, which contributed to the market's downward trend in the afternoon session.According to Focus Taiwan, the Taiex, Taiwan Stock Exchange's weighted index, closed down 160.44 points, or 0.70 percent, settling at 22,688.36. The market fluctuated between 22,622.47 and 22,977.56 throughout the day, with turnover reaching NT$376.88 billion (US$11.61 billion). The index initially opened with a modest gain of 0.11 percent, buoyed by follow-up buying from the previous session when the Taiex had gained 1.34 percent. However, the approach towards the technical resistance level near 23,000 points led some investors to shift to selling.Dealers noted that the selling intensified in the late afternoon as investors rushed to reduce their holdings in major tech stocks, particularly Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), amid futures settlements. Adam Lin, an analyst at Moore Securities Investment Consulting, highlighted that foreign institutional investors held approximately 41,000 more short position futures contracts than long ones as of Tuesday, leading to a strategic dumping of stocks to profit from futures.TSMC, the most heavily weighted stock in the market, saw a decline of 1.44 percent to close at NT$1,025.00, contributing significantly to the Taiex's drop. This impacted the electronics index and semiconductor subindex, which fell by 0.86 percent and 1.31 percent, respectively. The selling pressure extended to other semiconductor stocks, with MediaTek Inc. and Nanya Technology Corp. experiencing declines.Foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$32.16 billion worth of shares on the main board on Wednesday, based on data from the TWSE. Despite the overall downturn, some AI-related stocks like ASE Technology Holding Co. and Scientech Corp. managed to post gains, showing resilience amid the market volatility.Notably, iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. and AI server supplier Quanta Computer Inc. outperformed, as investors turned their attention to the old economy sector, notably the biotech industry. Shipping stocks also saw gains, with Yang Ming Transport Marine Corp. and Wan Hai Lines Ltd. both closing higher.In contrast, the financial sector experienced a minor decline, with Fubon Financial Holding Co. and Cathay Financial Holding Co. both closing lower. Despite the day's losses, Lin suggested that the Taiex maintained solid technical support at the 60-day moving average, currently around 22,540 points.