Intel Plunges 28.6% as Taiwan Stocks Face Test Next Week

蔡蔡欣怡 理財線記者2026-10-31 11:29

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U.S. tech stocks slumped, with Intel plunging 28.58% and losing about $140 billion in market value, while the PHLX Semiconductor Index tumbled 7.2%. Taiwan margin financing dropped by NT$10.4 billion, putting pressure on next week's open, as markets focus on AI capex returns and signals of semiconductor stabilization.

All Four Major U.S. Indexes Close Lower

U.S. tech stocks faced heavy selling pressure on October 30. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 572.25 points, down 1.09%, to close at 51770.31; the S&P 500 fell 140.32 points, down 1.82%, to close at 7580.07; the Nasdaq plunged 747.72 points, down 2.86%, to close at 25437, its largest single-day drop since June 5; the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped 829.398 points, down 7.20%, to close at 10688.801.

Intel Earnings Miss Drags Down Chip Stocks

Intel reported third-quarter earnings on the 29th, and with a weak next-quarter financial outlook, continued weakness in the laptop market, and capacity impact from an explosion at its Israel plant, its shares plunged from the previous close of $92.07 to $65.76, down 28.58% in a single day, the largest single-day drop since 1974, wiping out about $140 billion in market value. Selling spread across chip stocks, with AMD down 10.88%, Arm down 9.97%, Nvidia down 4.22%, Broadcom down 5.48%, and TSMC ADR down 5.95%; memory stocks also weakened, with SanDisk plunging 13.47%, SK Hynix ADR down 7.95%, and Micron down 5.30%, showing selling was no longer limited to a single stock.

Market Patience Over AI Returns Tested

Concerns over an AI bubble resurfaced, with focus shifting to when expanded capital spending by large cloud service providers will translate into revenue, profit and cash flow. Following earnings from Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon, cloud businesses still showed growth momentum, but large investment spending and cash flow pressure have raised market scrutiny. SinoPac Securities General Manager Li Xueshi noted that Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and Amazon AWS maintained strong growth, with combined backlog orders of about $1.8 trillion across the three cloud providers and end-user computing demand still far exceeding supply; but quarterly capital spending at Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon more than doubled year on year, while revenue grew only about 10-20%, and Alphabet and Meta even saw quarterly free cash flow turn negative, making the market markedly more sensitive to capital spending and cash flow.

Taiwan Stocks May See Greater Short-Term Volatility

Taiwan stocks already fell sharply last Friday with margin financing down NT$10.4 billion, and continued U.S. declines may add pressure to next week's open. SinoPac Securities believes the TAIEX estimated P/E ratio has fallen from about 21 times at the June high to just above 16 times, near a one-year low; if the P/E ratio moves closer to 16 times, room for long-term positioning increases, with the key being whether markets can rebuild confidence in AI investment returns and earnings growth. Allianz Taiwan's Taiwan equities team noted that short-term sentiment is overriding fundamentals, with electronics heavyweights and the AI supply chain the main source of selling pressure; managers Xiao Huizhong and Chen Siming both believe AI demand, cloud capital spending and Taiwan supply chain's key position remain unchanged, with corporate earnings still the medium- to long-term support, and pullbacks instead offer opportunities to build positions in stages.

FAQ

Why did Intel plunge 28.58% in a single day?

After Intel's third-quarter earnings, due to a weak next-quarter financial outlook, sluggish laptop market demand and capacity impact from an explosion at its Israel plant, its shares fell from $92.07 to $65.76, marking the largest single-day drop since 1974 and wiping out about $140 billion in market value.

What is the impact of falling U.S. tech stocks on Taiwan stocks?

With the PHLX Semiconductor Index plunging 7.20%, TSMC ADR falling 5.95%, and Taiwan margin financing down NT$10.4 billion, short-term valuation correction pressure has increased. Next week will require watching for stabilization in semiconductor heavyweights and whether foreign investors continue to cut electronics and AI supply-chain holdings, with volatility likely to increase.

Has AI demand reversed?

Both SinoPac Securities and Allianz Taiwan note that the three major CSPs have combined backlog orders of about $1.8 trillion, with computing demand still exceeding supply, and AI demand has not clearly reversed. What has changed is market patience over investment returns, not an immediate weakening in orders.