One signal

Taiwan’s Taiex plunged a record 3,737.67 points within minutes of opening on Friday, while TSMC shares hit their daily limit down at NT$2,020, Focus Taiwan reports. TSMC accounts for more than 40% of the market’s total value, making the sell-off hard to miss even by the market’s standards.

The report links the fall to heavy losses on Wall Street and uncertainty over AI data-centre policy after the US midterm elections. That is the reported backdrop, not proof that AI policy uncertainty alone caused the plunge. Focus Taiwan says analysts warned that investors who borrowed to buy shares could face margin calls and were advised to wait for signs the market had stabilised.

Discuss: Is this a warning about the AI supply chain, or a market shock whose causes reach well beyond AI?

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