Taipei: Shares in Taiwan fell more than 1 percent Wednesday, dragged down by the tech sector after U.S. tech stocks plunged overnight amid a spike in Treasury yields, dealers said. The Taiex, the Taiwan Stock Exchange's benchmark index, ended down 589.33 points, or 1.30 percent, at 44,719.35 after moving between 44,308.71 and 45,071.34. Turnover totaled NT$847.86 billion (US$26.59 billion).According to Focus Taiwan, the selloff was largely sparked by higher U.S. bond yields amid inflation worries as investors dumped interest rate-sensitive tech stocks. Moore Securities Investment Consulting analyst Adam Lin noted that large-cap semiconductor stocks, both domestically and internationally, suffered due to concerns over their high valuations, evidenced by a 4.98 percent drop in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index overnight.The U.S. tech downturn triggered selling in shares of South Korean memory chip suppliers Samsung Electronics Corp. and SK Hynix Inc. on the Korea Exchange, influencing their Taiwanese cou nterparts. Nanya Technology Corp. closed down 6.60 percent at NT$481.00, and Winbond Electronics Corp. fell 4.82 percent to end at NT$168.00.Other factors also played a role in the market's decline. Lin highlighted that Wednesday was the settlement date of August futures contracts, leading foreign institutional investors to trim tech holdings in the spot market due to a significant number of short contracts.Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), a major player accounting for over 40 percent of the total market value, lost 1.26 percent, contributing about 240 points to the Taiex's fall. Similarly, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., MediaTek Inc., and Delta Electronics Inc. all recorded declines.Despite the downturn, some investors redirected funds to telecom stocks for safety, with Taiwan Mobile Co. rising 2.25 percent. The opening of Intelligent Asia 2026, Taiwan's largest robotics and automation trade show, provided a boost to Teco Electric and Machinery Co. and Tatung Co.In contrast, the old ec onomy sector saw losses, with companies like Formosa Plastics Corp. and Nan Ya Plastics Corp. closing lower. The financial sector followed the Taiex's trend, falling 1.05 percent.Lin pointed out that although the Taiex recouped some early losses, it still dipped below the 60-day moving average of 44,800 points. If the index fails to return to that level soon, it may test the next technical support around 44,000 points.According to the Taiwan Stock Exchange, foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$41.64 billion of shares on the market Wednesday.