Taiwan stock market closes with third-largest drop in history

The TAIEX, the weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, closed at 21,092.75 points Wednesday, plummeting by 999.46 points from the previous day, marking the third steepest single-day drop in its history.

Meanwhile, overseas institutional investors sold a net 100.75 billion new Taiwan dollars (about 3.13 billion U.S. dollars) in shares, setting a new record for the highest single-day sell-off.

Among the major weighted stocks in the TAIEX, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) dropped by 51 dollars, a decline of 5.43 percent, to close at 889 dollars, falling below the critical 900-dollar mark.

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. fell by 2.97 percent to 179.5 dollars, while smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc. saw a significant decline of 6.97 percent, closing at 1,135 dollars.

The three largest single-day drops in TAIEX history have all occurred in the third quarter of this year.