Taipei:Following a recent sharp sell-off in the Taiex, the Taiwan Stock Exchange's benchmark index, the local bourse has fallen to seventh place globally in terms of market capitalization as of Saturday morning.
According to Focus Taiwan, real-time data compiled by MarketCapWatch reveals that the total market capitalization of Taiwan's stock market stood at US$4.36 trillion. This marks a decline from its recent peak ranking at the fourth spot globally.
The United States leads the global rankings with a market capitalization of US$78.43 trillion, followed by China at US$19.48 trillion, Japan at US$7.81 trillion, India at US$5.1 trillion, the United Kingdom at US$4.7 trillion, and Canada at US$4.38 trillion. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker, holds the seventh spot among the world's largest listed companies, with a market capitalization of US$1.79 trillion in its American depository receipts.
On Friday, the Taiex plummeted by 1,873.08 points, or 4.51 percent, closing below the 40,000-point mark at 39,701.64. This was attributed to heavy losses in U.S. markets a day earlier. Concerns over potential restrictions on AI data center development, following the Democratic Party's victories in both chambers of the U.S. Congress and gubernatorial races in states like Texas, have fueled these sell-offs.
For the week, the Taiex decreased by 5,510.19 points, or 12.19 percent, from the previous week. The total market capitalization of the local main board dropped by NT$17.94 trillion (US$547 billion) to NT$130.84 trillion. Excluding the electronics sector, the Taiex fell by 2,113.67 points, or 7.84 percent, over the week.
Investor sentiment was already dampened by concerns that major cloud service providers might not generate sufficient returns on their investments in AI infrastructure. The electronics component industry, closely linked to AI development, experienced the steepest decline among major industries, falling 21.60 percent. Conversely, the biotechnology industry posted a 1.03 percent gain, emerging as a safe haven.
The Taiwan Stock Exchange reported that turnover on the main board totaled NT$4.47 trillion during the week, with the semiconductor industry contributing the largest amount at NT$1.82 trillion. Since the beginning of the year, aggregate turnover on the local main board has reached NT$203.14 trillion, with an average daily turnover of approximately NT$1 trillion.