The TAIEX, Taiwan’s benchmark stock index, fell 221 points, or 0.5%, to 44,991 in Monday morning trading, extending a two-session losing streak and mirroring Friday’s decline on Wall Street driven by a selloff in major technology stocks. The index slipped to its lowest level since August 24, pressured mainly by weakness in electronic technology and financial shares.
Sentiment was further dampened by the latest data from China. An official government survey showed an unexpected contraction in mainland factory activity in October, while a private survey indicated that manufacturing growth slowed slightly.
Electronic technology stocks lost 1.2%. TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker and a heavyweight that represents more than 40% of the market’s total capitalization, dropped 1.7%. Delta Electronics declined 1.9%, Nanya Technology slipped 1.3%, and United Microelectronics fell 2.2%.
Still, easing oil prices helped cap broader market losses by tempering inflation concerns.
