Taiwan Activates National Stabilization Fund After Record Taiex Loss

Taiwan's government has authorized emergency stock market intervention measures following a turbulent week of record losses across domestic exchanges. Financial regulators have officially authorized the activation of the National Stabilization Fund and introduced stricter curbs on short selling to restore investor confidence after the benchmark Taiex index fell below the 40,000-point baseline on Friday. The heavy market drop was driven primarily by rapid declines in semiconductor titan TSMC, which briefly hit its maximum daily limit down before regaining ground near closing. With month-on-month market cap losses topping US$945 million, President Lai Ching-te has urged the public to stay rational while financial agencies act to prevent excessive market disruption.