Taiwan Futures Close 779 Points Below Taiex as U.S. Tech Stocks Slide

Taiwan’s benchmark Taiex index futures ended Friday at 44,433 points, 779 points below the cash close, adding pressure ahead of a week of U.S. earnings, election counting and jobs data.

The November contract also settled 293 points below the Taiex’s intraday low of 44,726. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. futures finished at NT$2,289, or NT$81 below the stock’s NT$2,370 cash close. Taiwan’s futures market is scheduled to reopen Sunday at 7:45 p.m. ET (00:45 UTC Monday), ahead of cash trading at 8 p.m. ET (01:00 UTC Monday). A focus in the next session will be whether buying extends beyond TSMC shares.

The futures close followed a steep Friday decline in U.S. technology stocks. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 7.2%, while Intel dropped 28.58% after issuing a weaker fourth-quarter outlook. The retreat reflected concern that returns on artificial intelligence spending may take longer to materialize. South Korean shares fell 3.49% Friday. The move followed Taiwan’s Oct. 30 stock decline amid global weakness in AI-related shares.

Foreign investors recorded net sales of NT$994.3 billion in Taiwanese shares during October 2026. Net sales topped NT$100 billion on three sessions — Oct. 13, Oct. 15 and Oct. 30 — including NT$302.5 billion on Oct. 15. Domestic investment trusts bought shares for 14 consecutive sessions through Oct. 30, accumulating NT$224.9 billion, while eight state-owned banks purchased NT$241.3 billion during the month.

The marketwide margin maintenance ratio stood at 180.21% on Oct. 29, above the 130% threshold for margin calls. The figure predates Friday’s decline and is a market average, so it does not describe every account. Margin financing balances fell NT$10.4 billion Friday to NT$623.468 billion.

Apple and Advanced Micro Devices earnings are due this week. Vote counting in the U.S. midterm elections is scheduled to start Tuesday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. ET (00:00 UTC Wednesday).

The U.S. nonfarm payrolls report is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 6, at 8:30 a.m. ET (13:30 UTC), after Taiwan’s cash market closes. September nonfarm payrolls increased by 29,000 jobs.