Taiwan Stock Market Pre-Opening News: TSMC Dividend Payout, Foreign Investors Sell Off NT$227.2 Billion in 4 Days, MediaTek Unveils 2nm Dimensity 9600 Pro

September 16 Taiwan Stock Market Pre-Market News

1. On September 15, trading volume in the Taiwan stock market hit the second-lowest level of the year. The index briefly reclaimed the 46,000-point mark but lost it again, closing at 45,511 — down 351 points — testing support at the quarterly moving average. All three major institutional investors were net sellers, indicating weak holding sentiment. Foreign investors targeted secondary-tier foundries, selling 95,000 lots of Powerchip (3007-TW) and United Microelectronics Corporation (2303-TW). They also adjusted active, index-tracking, and high-dividend ETFs, with five of the top ten sold stocks being ETFs, totaling 186,000 lots.

2. September 16 marks a major dividend ex-date event. The Taiwan Stock Exchange announced that three weighted index components — TSMC (2330-TW), Cailiao*-KY (4763-TW), and Lichi (1517-TW) — will go ex-dividend on September 16. As a result, total market capitalization will shrink, reducing the weighted price index by approximately 56.59 points, with TSMC alone accounting for about 55.64 points.

3. Dr. Y.J. Mii, Co-Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of TSMC (2330-TW) (TSM-US), spoke at an event hosted for National Taiwan University students on September 15, discussing AI development and risks. He described current AI as 'like a 3-year-old superman' — extremely powerful but potentially leading to unpredictable outcomes. Recently, CEOs from AI firms including Anthropic and OpenAI have issued similar warnings about rapid AI advancement. Consequently, TSMC maintains a conservative stance on using AI tools for sensitive R&D information.

4. MediaTek (2454-TW) officially unveiled its next-generation flagship smartphone chipset, the Dimensity 9600 series, on September 15. The top-tier Dimensity 9600 Pro adopts TSMC’s (2330-TW) (TSM-US) 2-nanometer process for the first time and features a full large-core CPU and AI-native architecture, marking entry into the 2nm era. With Apple recently launching its 2nm-based A20 Pro chip for the new iPhone 18 Pro series, the two major mobile chipmakers are now directly competing at the 2nm node. Smartphones equipped with MediaTek’s new chip are expected to launch in Taiwan as early as October.

5. The August 2026 standalone earnings reports for all 13 listed financial holding companies have been released. Benefiting from a rebound in the Taiwan stock market, strong performance in AI-related sectors, and active capital market transactions, profitability surged across the board. Combined after-tax net profit for the month reached NT$86.126 billion. Cumulative after-tax net profit for the first eight months exceeded NT$578.907 billion, up nearly 60% year-on-year, setting a new historical high for the same period. Fubon Financial Holding (2881-TW) reclaimed the title of highest monthly profit, maintaining leadership in cumulative profit and EPS. Five financial holdings — Taishin & SKH (2887-TW), Yuanta Financial (2885-TW), Cathay Financial (2883-TW), SinoPac Financial (2890-TW), and KGI Financial (2889-TW) — have already surpassed their full-year 2025 profits.

6. U.S. Treasury yields breached 5%, and the U.S. Dollar Index continued to strengthen, heightening investor expectations of further Federal Reserve rate hikes. Ahead of key central bank interest rate decisions, risk-off sentiment surged globally. Asian equities weakened broadly on September 15, and Taiwan faced a 'double whammy' of falling stocks and currency. The New Taiwan Dollar depreciated over 20 cents against the U.S. dollar intraday, closing at 31.848, down 1.6 cents — marking four consecutive days of decline, the largest single-day drop in over six months, and the lowest level in nearly three weeks.

7. On September 15, Taiwan’s Ministry of Finance announced the final determination of its anti-dumping investigation into imports of 'cold-rolled flat non-oriented electrical steel sheets' from South Korea and mainland China, confirming dumping practices by manufacturers in both regions. The dumping margin for Korean firms reached as high as 59.35%, while Chinese firms stood at 26.44%. The Customs Administration has instructed all ports to immediately impose provisional anti-dumping duties based on these final margins and referred the case to the Ministry of Economic Affairs for final assessment of national economic interest and industrial damage. A formal recommendation on whether to impose permanent duties will be submitted to the Tariff Rate Review Committee within 50 days.