U.S. stocks fell sharply Wednesday after the Federal Reserve left rates unchanged at 3.50% to 3.75%, while an unusually large bloc of policymakers dissented in favor of a 25-basis-point hike. The decision itself matched expectations, but three of 12 officials voted against it, marking the first time since 2016 that the Fed has seen three hawkish dissenting votes in a single meeting. Markets took that as a harder policy signal, and rate expectations shifted quickly, with CME FedWatch showing the probability of a September hike rising to 65.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1,153.18 points, or 2.19%, its biggest one-day point loss since April 2025. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.74% for a sixth straight losing session, while the S&P 500 lost 1.52%. The Nasdaq 100 dropped 2.06% and is now down more than 11% from its June record, putting it in technical correction territory. At the same time, the VIX jumped 13.45% to 20.66. Pressure was especially heavy in AI hardware. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index tumbled 5.33% and is now down 28.7% from its record high. Memory names extended their retreat for a fourth day, Treasury curves steepened sharply, and the 30-year Treasury yield touched 5.23%, the highest level since June 2007. Oil also surged after the collapse of a brief U.S.-Iran ceasefire and news of fresh military strikes.

The Federal Reserve kept the federal funds rate unchanged at 3.50% to 3.75% in its latest decision announced early July 30 Taiwan time, according to ABMedia. The report also noted that three committee members voted for a rate hike. U.S. stocks closed lower across the board, with technology shares taking the brunt of the pressure. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.18% to 15,948.86, the NASDAQ dropped 1.74% to 24,442.94, and the S&P 500 declined 1.51% to 7,316.40. TSMC ADR closed at $374.72, down $17.59, or 4.48%. NVIDIA, Tesla, Microsoft and Apple also ended lower, while Alphabet, Meta and Palantir posted gains. In Asia’s early session, Japan’s Nikkei 225 traded higher, rising 245.31 points, or 0.40%, to 61,679.50 as of around 8 a.m. Taiwan time. South Korea’s KOSPI extended losses, at one point falling about 5.98% to a low of 5,262.77, and was still down 360.42 points, or 5.98%, at 5,663.24 before publication. Markets are now watching upcoming U.S. employment and inflation data, earnings from Apple and Amazon, and whether AI-related capital spending keeps growing.

Bitcoin slid to a three-week low of $87,806, and Ethereum broke below $3,000. Major US indexes lost their 50-day moving averages, VIX hit a three-month high, and crypto-related stocks tumbled.

Taiwan's TAIEX futures night session plunged 3,006 points (-6.65%) on Friday, the largest single-day drop ever. A hotter-than-expected US jobs report fueled rate-hike fears, sending the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down over 10%. With margin loans at NT$570 billion and massive leveraged positions, Monday's cash market faces potential forced liquidation cascades.

Fresh 13F filings show Harvard slashed its IBIT position by 43% in Q1 and fully exited its Ether ETF stake, while Abu Dhabi sovereign fund Mubadala added more IBIT shares.

KMT lawmaker Ko Ju-chun grilled Premier Cho Jung-tai and financial regulators on five key issues. Cho pledged tax incentive direction within a month and a bitcoin spot ETF report in three months. The central bank said no country uses bitcoin as a reserve, but Ko cited Czech precedent.

Taiwan stocks plunged nearly 2,700 points in early trading before bargain buying emerged. Market watchers are focused on TSMC’s monthly line, margin maintenance levels, sector rotation, and upcoming US CPI and FOMC decisions.

U.S. stocks closed lower as a fresh round of hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials collided with a sharp semiconductor selloff and renewed questions about the economics of artificial intelligence spending. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.20%, the S&P 500 lost 0.51%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.47%, with chip stocks driving much of the weakness. Stronger U.S. data added to the pressure on rate-cut expectations. June retail sales excluding gasoline stations rose 0.7% month over month, initial jobless claims fell to 208,000, and the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index climbed to 41.4. Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan backed the case for modest rate hikes and said one softer CPI print was "not enough," while Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid reiterated his focus on inflation. Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson also publicly discussed AI as a possible future source of inflation if infrastructure spending and demand outpace productivity gains. At the sector level, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 4.29% and entered a technical bear market after retreating more than 22% from its mid-June high. A regulatory move in South Korea to tighten trading in single-stock leveraged ETFs intensified the selloff in memory names including SK Hynix, SanDisk, Seagate, Western Digital, and Micron. Debate over OpenAI’s business model also intensified after commentator Ed Zitron argued that an "OpenAI bubble" sits at the center of the broader AI trade, while investors including Howard Marks said the industry remains in the early stages of commercialization.