Taiwan stocks extended a multiday sell-off on July 29, with the market briefly falling below the 40,000 level in intraday trading. Finance Minister Chuang Tsui-yun said at the legislature that officials are still monitoring conditions, but the National Financial Stabilization Fund has not yet met the threshold for market support.
Finance minister says no trigger yet for stabilization fund action
Speaking at the Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee on July 29, Chuang responded to Kuomintang lawmaker Lin Te-fu’s question about whether the stabilization fund should step in to support the market.
She said the latest decline is not limited to Taiwan. Stock markets in the U.S., Japan, and South Korea have also moved lower, with losses concentrated in electronics and semiconductor shares. In her description, Taiwan’s market is moving closely with global markets and the retreat should be viewed as a systemic correction rather than an isolated domestic problem.
Chuang also said Taiwan’s broader economy remains strong, with business indicators still showing a red signal, and that the market continues to have support from underlying fundamentals. On whether the fund will enter the market, she said relevant personnel will keep watching global developments, Taiwan’s market performance, and the actual impact of related measures introduced by the Financial Supervisory Commission.
Under the Act Governing the National Financial Stabilization Fund, market intervention requires approval by the fund’s management committee. Chuang said the legal conditions for activation have not been triggered so far, and authorities will continue to observe developments and handle the matter according to law.
Taiwan shares fall more than 1,300 points intraday
The market remained under pressure through July 29. Taiwan stocks fell more than 1,300 points during the session and lost the 40,000 threshold, trading at 39,900 before publication and extending the bearish tone from the previous trading day.
On July 28, the market had already dropped 2,030.83 points in a single session, the third-largest one-day point loss on record. Electronics and semiconductor names remained the hardest-hit groups, while buying interest stayed cautious.
Memory stocks slump after SK Hynix results miss expectations
Memory shares were among the weakest parts of the market. According to the report, concerns over the sector intensified after South Korean memory chip maker SK Hynix posted second-quarter 2026 earnings below expectations.
Before publication, Winbond Electronics (2344) was locked limit-down at TWD 353.5, Nanya Technology (2408) was limit-down at TWD 130, and Macronix International (2337), which had held an earnings briefing a day earlier, also fell limit-down to TWD 102.
Elite Semiconductor Microelectronics Technology (3006), ChipMOS Technologies (8150), and AP Memory Technology (6531) also hit limit-down levels. Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing (6770), Etron Technology (5351), Phison Electronics (8299), and Walton Advanced Engineering (8110) each fell more than 9%, leaving the memory segment under broad selling pressure.
Analyst points to margin pressure and unsettled positioning
Chou Chia-ho, an analyst at Lun Yuan Securities Investment Consulting, said the sharp drop in memory stocks is tied not only to the broader market, but also to pressure from investor positioning.
Using Macronix as an example, Chou said the stock has fallen about 46.8% from its June high, while margin balances have declined only 3.6%. That gap suggests many higher-cost margin positions are still stuck at elevated levels.
He said memory shares are facing particularly disorderly margin positioning, and forced selling is likely to keep emerging. Until that positioning is more fully cleared, short-term rebound momentum in several memory names may stay limited, with no clear bottom in sight for now.