Taiex Falls Below 40,000 Points
The Taiwan Capitalization Weighted Stock Index has seen sharp volatility recently, falling 5510 points cumulatively from November 2 to 6. It opened down nearly 3800 points today, hitting an intraday low of 37837 points, the lowest recently, and closed at 39701 points, down 1873 points from the previous trading day, falling below the 40000-point mark. It is down 10267 points, or 20.55%, from this year's high of 49968 points, with continued net selling by foreign investors, showing a clear lack of investor confidence.
International Variables and Heavier Selling Pressure
The Fund noted that uncertainty in the international political and economic situation remains high. After the U.S. midterm elections, U.S. stocks and major Asian stock markets fell sharply together, with Taiwan stocks falling 12.19% this week, second only to the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index's 15.7%. In October, foreign investors posted cumulative net sales reaching New Taiwan dollars 9943.16 billion, a record single-month high, and continued net sales in November, with cumulative net sales of 5244 billion as of today, deepening the downtrend. The Fund stressed that the country's economic fundamentals are sound, but Taiwan stocks are dominated by high-tech stocks and move closely with the U.S. Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, causing the domestic stock market to fall in tandem, with a clear lack of market confidence in the short term.
Authorized Use of Funds to Stabilize Market
The Fund announced after its 131st extraordinary committee meeting on the afternoon of the 6th that the management committee reached consensus and resolved to authorize the executive secretary to use funds to carry out market stabilization tasks as conditions warrant. This is the 10th entry in the Fund's history, with up to NT$5000 billion available. The Fund further explained that the conditions under Article 8 of the National Financial Stabilization Fund Establishment and Management Regulations have been met, as domestic and foreign major events and large movements of international capital have significantly affected public confidence, causing the capital market and other financial markets to be失序 or to risk undermining national stability. Market analysis notes that the core significance of the Fund's entry is to reduce selling pressure and stabilize investor confidence, helping subsequent market sentiment recover.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs also voiced confidence on the same day, stressing that Taiwan's industrial fundamentals are sound and its industrial chain is complete, and calling on all sectors to have confidence. Looking at recent economic performance, economic growth, industrial production indices and imports/exports all show growth momentum. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics announced in October that the estimated 3rd-quarter economic growth rate reached 14.36%; from January to September, the manufacturing production index was 135.48, up 21.83% year-on-year; export value exceeded US$6600 billion, up 46.2% year-on-year; export orders reached more than US$8100 billion, up 56.01% year-on-year, both surpassing last year's full-year levels, with export orders exceeding US$1000 billion for two consecutive months in August and September. The Ministry estimates that exports will exceed US$8000 billion and reach US$9000 billion this year, while export orders are expected to reach US$1 trillion, demonstrating Taiwan's industrial strength competitiveness and resilience.