Most of the Asia-Pacific stock markets fell on Wednesday, with both the Japanese and South Korean markets dropping by 1%, and the Taiwanese market showing a significant decline following the strongest earthquake in 25 years.
As of the close of the Japanese market, the Nikkei 225 index fell by 0.97% to 39,451.85 points, while the TOPIX index dropped by 0.3% to 2,706.51 points.
Taiwan's stock market has also closed. The Taiwan Stock Exchange Weighted Index fell by 0.6% to 20,337.60 points, marking the largest decline since March 15, after rising by 1.2% in the previous trading day.
TSMC contributed the most to the index's decline, falling by 1.3%. MediaTek Inc. saw the largest decline, dropping by 7.8%.
China Earthquake Networks Center officially determined that a 7.3-magnitude earthquake occurred in the sea area of Hualien County, Taiwan at 07:58 on April 3, with a depth of 12 kilometers.
The meteorological department of the Taiwan authorities stated that this is the largest earthquake in the 25 years since the &#34;921&#34; earthquake. The 921 earthquake in Taiwan, also known as the Chi-Chi earthquake, was the largest earthquake in Taiwan at the end of the 20th century. It occurred at 1:47:12 on September 21, 1999, with a magnitude of 7.6 and a depth of 8 kilometers. The earthquake resulted in the deaths of more than 2,400 people, over tens of thousands injured, and nearly 110,000 households completely or partially collapsed.
According to media reports, the Hsinchu Science Park Administration stated that TSMC and UMC's Hsinchu plant have partially shut down preventively, and Innolux's Hsinchu plant has also partially shut down; Dymatic and KYEC's Tongluo plant have evacuated all personnel.
TSMC stated that to ensure personnel safety, part of the plant area has been evacuated according to internal procedures, and the safety system is normal; detailed information is still pending confirmation. Some quartz tubes in TSMC's plant have ruptured, causing some damage to online wafers. Some machines have been temporarily shut down for inspection to prevent deviations. Based on the current situation, it is estimated that the impact on working hours will be within 6 hours, with an estimated impact of about $60 million on TSMC's second-quarter financial forecast, with overall limited impact.
The KOSPI in Seoul, South Korea fluctuated throughout the day, closing with a decline of 1.68%.
Spot gold edged down slightly on Wednesday, with an intraday decline of 0.2%.
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As for oil prices, both Brent crude oil and WTI crude oil futures continued to rise slightly during the day.
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TSMC fell by 1.3%, with some factories being evacuated. Analysis predicts an impact of approximately $60 million on the company's second-quarter financial forecast

Wallstreetcn

Taiwan Semiconductor

After the strongest earthquake in 25 years in Taiwan, the Taiwan stock market fell, with TSMC's Zhunan plant partially shut down due to the earthquake. Both the Japanese and South Korean stock markets fell by 1%