The TAIEX fell 214.9 points on August 6 as foreign net buying slowed to NT$2.02 billion from NT$90.3 billion a session earlier, while institutions split sharply over financial shares.
Taiwan's stock market ended lower on August 6, with the TAIEX closing down 214.9 points at 44,396.7, a decline of 0.48%, as weakness in large-cap electronic heavyweights weighed on the index and trading volume shrank to NT$940.39 billion (approximately $29.2 billion). The day's flow picture showed a marked slowdown in overseas buying: the three major institutional investors were net buyers by a combined NT$4.56 billion (approximately $141.5 million), but foreign investors bought just NT$2.02 billion (approximately $62.7 million), down sharply from the previous session's NT$90.3 billion (approximately $2.8 billion). Their positioning nonetheless pointed to clear sector rotation (shifting capital between industries), with money moving out of financial shares and into selected electronics and cyclical names. Powerchip (6770.TW) led foreign buying with 38,629 shares, lifting its stock price by NT$0.5, or 0.76%. Innolux (3481.TW) followed with 37,748 shares, while Hon Hai (2317.TW) drew 21,743 shares as optimism over AI server shipments kept sentiment constructive. China Steel (2002.TW) and Ta Chen Stainless Pipe (2027.TW) also ranked among the top buys, suggesting interest in steel names tied to infrastructure demand and stabilizing prices. At the same time, foreign investors bought 46,000 shares of the Yuanta Taiwan 50 Inverse -1X ETF, signaling hedging activity as the index trades at elevated levels. Selling was concentrated in financial stocks. Taiwan Business Bank (2834.TW) topped the sell list with 23,309 shares offloaded and its stock price fell NT$0.2, or 1.19%. First Financial Holding (2892.TW), Taichung Bank (2812.TW), KGI Financial Holding (2883.TW), Mega Financial (2886.TW), and Taishin Shin Kong Financial (2887.TW) were also heavily sold, reflecting profit-taking after prior gains. Domestic investment trusts moved the other way, posting a net buy of NT$8.86 billion (approximately $274.9 million) and extending a buying streak to at least 30 consecutive sessions, with Hua Nan Financial (2880.TW), Mega Financial and First Financial Holding as their top three buys. Proprietary traders, by contrast, were net sellers of NT$6.31 billion (approximately $195.7 million). Foreign investors also trimmed TSMC (2330.TW) by 4,011 shares, while their net short positions (bearish futures bets) rose by 2,121 contracts to 89,300 contracts, near the record high of 90,000 contracts, underscoring caution on the near-term outlook. Analysts said the market briefly dipped below the quarterly moving average before recovering and still closed above all major moving averages. They identified 44,000 as near-term support and 44,600 to 45,000 as overhead resistance. Whether TSMC and MediaTek (2454.TW) can stabilize, whether over-the-counter market strength can persist, and whether foreign investors keep buying electronic heavyweights while financial selling eases are seen as the key signals for whether the TAIEX can regain upward momentum.