Taiwan Stocks Plunge Amid Crude Oil Fears and AI Bubble Concerns

Taiwan's stock market plummeted on July 24, shedding over 1,100 points as investors grew anxious about escalating military conflicts in the Middle East and a possible AI bubble.

The Taiex index, which tracks Taiwan's benchmark stocks, closed at 43,654.84, down 2.67% from the previous day.

Mega International Investment Services analyst Alex Huang attributed the sell-off to concerns over inflation and rising crude oil prices, which breached $100 per barrel.

Huang noted that investors trimmed their tech holdings, with the local electronics index falling 2.99%, as contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) lost 2.29%.

The AI sector was also affected, with stocks like TSMC and MediaTek Inc. plummeting due to fears that cloud service providers cannot generate satisfactory sales from their massive AI infrastructure spending.