U.S. Tech Stocks Plunge, Philadelphia Semiconductor Index Drops 7.2%
Market concerns over monetization of artificial intelligence investment heated up, and U.S. tech stocks plunged. TSMC American depositary receipts fell 5.95%, Intel plunged 28.58%, Nvidia fell 4.22%, and AMD plunged 10.88%. Marvell, Qualcomm and SanDisk fell more than 10%, Broadcom fell 5.48%, SK Hynix American depositary shares fell 7.95%, and Micron fell 5.3%. The U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 572.25 points, or 1.09%, to close at 51,770.31, the S&P 500 fell 140.32 points, or 1.82%, to close at 7,580.07. The Nasdaq fell 747.72 points, or 2.86%, to close at 25,437. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunged 829.398 points, or 7.2%, to close at 10,688.801.
Analysts: AI Fundamentals Have Not Turned Bearish, Capital Concentrating Toward Large Firms
Taishin Investment Advisory strategist 黃文清 said U.S. and Taiwan stocks are in a super earnings week, with the U.S. midterm elections next week, and the market is clouded by worries that AI is burning too much money and monetizing too slowly, but overall, AI industry fundamentals have not turned bearish, including Meta, Alphabet and Amazon whose capital expenditures have not pulled back, and Microsoft's capital expenditure plans also do not reflect weaker demand. It is expected that emerging cloud players have weaker financial resilience, and capital may concentrate further toward large firms in the future. Analysts said major Taiwan and U.S. electronics and technology firms have reported earnings one after another, with revenues and profits continuing to grow on strong AI industry demand, but cloud service giants and AI chip makers continue to increase investment in key components and equipment for AI infrastructure, with expanded financing, and the market worries about the impact on cash flow and investment monetization in the AI industry. Bubble fears remain, hitting U.S. AI chip stocks and the technology sector hard.
Taiex Loses Half-Year Line, Foreign Investors Net Sell NT$994.3 Billion in October
The Taiex fell 1,156.5 points on the 30th to close at 45,211.83, losing the half-year line at about 45,315. Foreign investors' cumulative net selling in Taiwan stocks in October totaled NT$994.3 billion, reducing holdings including TSMC, MediaTek and Delta Electronics and other electronics heavyweights. The three major institutional investors together net sold NT$139.844 billion, including proprietary dealers net selling NT$51.37 billion, investment trusts net buying NT$23.993 billion, and foreign and mainland investors net selling NT$112.467 billion. 黃文清 said international technology stocks have corrected notably since October, and Taiwan stocks have been relatively resilient versus the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index and the neighboring South Korean market, but their high level has also made them a source of funds for foreign investors, with short-term pressure from domestic selling to lighten positions.
Next Week to Test 45,000, Watching Three Stabilization Signals
Looking ahead, analysts said early November brings the uncertainty of the U.S. midterm elections, international oil prices remain high, the Middle East situation remains unclear, plus the magnet effect of Anthropic's IPO filing, with some international funds staying on the sidelines or withdrawing from Asian equities. Taiwan stocks may face clear pullback pressure at next week's open, with electronics heavyweights remaining under pressure, and the index testing support at the 45,000 level, watching whether it can hold the intraday low of 44,726 on the 30th, awaiting a bottoming signal, and watching whether the number of declining listed companies narrows and volume can recover. Taiex futures after-hours fell 867 points to close at 44,433, and TSMC futures after-hours fell 87 points to close at 2,289. The three major institutional investors' net short positions on the 30th increased by 501 contracts to 1,294 contracts, including foreign investors' net short positions increasing by 2,719 contracts to 90,0002,241 contracts. 黃文清 said to watch whether the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index can climb back above its annual line, whether recently weak Delta Electronics, UMC and others turn higher, and whether margin overhang is substantially reduced.