Taiwanese shares suffered a massive rout as the benchmark stock index plummeted by more than 2,600 points, market operators reported on June 8, Focus Taiwan reports. A steep sell-off on Wall Street and rising fears that high interest rates will crush the artificial intelligence rally triggered the panic. The Taiex broke past its 20-day moving average to hit roughly 42,389 points shortly after the opening bell.

The unprecedented sell-off underscores Taiwan's deep vulnerability to shifts in global technology sentiment. As the uncontested hub of global advanced chip manufacturing, any threat to the artificial intelligence equity boom immediately triggers capital flight from the island's tech-heavy exchange.

Market heavyweight Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) (2330.TW) led the collapse, opening down TWD135 ($4.28) before touching TWD2,230. The drop is the largest intraday price decline in the company's history. The crash wiped approximately TWD3.5trillion ($110bn) off the chipmaker's market capitalisation, shrinking its total value to TWD57.82trillion ($246bn).

The domestic market panic followed a bruising session for US equities on June 5. Investors increasingly fear that restrictive monetary policy will bring a premature end to the artificial intelligence boom. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index crashed 10.26% on June 5, while South Korea's benchmark index tumbled by more than 8% in early trading on June 8.

Other major Taiwanese technology names faced intense selling pressure during morning trading on June 8. Shares of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (2317.TW), Yageo Corp. (2327.TW), Delta Electronics Inc. (2308.TW) and ASE Technology Holding Co. (3711.TW) each shed approximately 7% of their value as the contagion spread across the board.

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