Rising AI Concerns Push Funds Out of Tech Stocks
Doubts over AI development have intensified volatility in global stock markets, with funds gradually withdrawing from tech stocks and high P/E groups. Foreign investors have sold a cumulative nearly NT$1 trillion in Taiwan stocks since October, setting a record for the largest single-month sell-off in history. Among international markets, October declines were clearly concentrated in markets with higher AI weightings, with South Korea's KOSPI plunging 16.19%, the Nikkei falling 5.19%, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropping 15.36%. In contrast, the Dow Jones rose 1.7% against the trend, while the S&P 500 held at highs with a modest monthly decline of 0.93%, indicating funds were not withdrawing across the board but rotating into defensive sectors.
The TAIEX has fallen 5.69% since October, while the TPEx index dropped 11.22%, with small- and mid-cap stocks under heavier selling pressure. TSMC fell 4.44% in the month, breaking below its half-year moving average. Among electronic heavyweights, Delta Electronics posted the steepest drop, hitting limit-down on October 30 and plunging 29.37% in the month. Defensive and traditional-industry themed groups were relatively resilient, with the Formosa Plastics Big Four, the shipping Big Three and financial stocks all closing higher in the month, including Grand Fortune Securities up 35.65% in October and Nan Ya Plastics up 15.85%, showing clearly divergent performance.
15 Stocks With Foreign Buying Buck the Trend
According to CMoney statistics, several stocks remained sheltered by funds during the market correction. Screening for targets that posted foreign net buying since October, with foreign ownership over 15%, and whose share prices rose against the trend, there were 15 in total, including WIN Semiconductors, Taiwan Surface Mounting Technology, Evergreen Marine, Chunghwa Telecom, International Games System, Mega Financial, Yang Ming Marine, Yuanta Financial, Uni-President Enterprises, Pegatron, President Chain Store, Realtek, CTBC Financial, Taiwan Mobile, Novatek. Beyond electronics, they cover defensive groups such as financials, shipping, telecoms and consumer staples, mainly concentrated in financials, shipping and telecoms, with relatively stable chip distribution, and are expected to show resilience against declines in the short term amid ongoing market volatility.
In terms of amount, the top 4 stocks meeting the screening criteria each received foreign net buying of over NT$10 billion in October, led by WIN Semiconductors with NT$30.44 billion in net buying, followed by Taiwan Surface Mounting Technology with NT$10.826 billion, Evergreen Marine with NT$10.647 billion, and Chunghwa Telecom with NT$10.104 billion. In terms of consecutive net buying days, President Chain Store was most favored with foreign buying for 17 straight trading sessions, Taiwan Mobile saw 12 straight sessions of buying, Chunghwa Telecom 8 sessions, and Evergreen Marine 7 sessions, keeping foreign trading moves in focus.