Taipei: Taiwan‘s stock exchange plunged more than eight percent on Wednesday as investors fretted over fresh coronavirus restrictions and a wider selloff in global tech stocks.
The Taiex — one of Asia’s best performers this year — dropped as much as 8.6 per cent in morning trade, extending losses from record highs in April to nearly 13 per cent.
It picked up slightly closed 4.11 per cent down by the end of the day.
Taiwan has been hailed as a global leader in containing the coronavirus with just 1,210 confirmed cases, 12 deaths. The island’s economy recorded 3.1 per cent growth last year, the highest in Asia and the Taiex, as well as the local dollar, has been riding a wave of confidence.
But that came to an abrupt halt on Tuesday when authorities announced fresh restrictions on public gatherings following fears that a small cluster of coronavirus cases that began with airline pilots had spread locally. Shares finished down 3.8 per cent that day.
“Investor confidence in Taiex has collapsed now due to concerns over Covid-19 after the health minister said it’s possible for Taiwan to escalate the alert level for Covid-19,” said Paul Cheng, president of MasterLink Securities Investment Advisory. “And there are some concerns over tech shares, especially for the second half outlook due to factors including rising manufacturing costs and lower margins.”
