TAIEX Closes Below 46,000 as Tech Stocks Slide on AI Slowdown Calls, Middle East Tensions

Taiwan's benchmark TAIEX index dropped 322.33 points (0.7%) to close at 45,862.52 on September 14, 2026, with trading volume falling to NT$630.9 billion from NT$721.9 billion the prior session. The decline was attributed to renewed calls from leading AI executives to slow development pace alongside ongoing Middle East tensions, which together pressured technology stocks. Major chip names were mixed: TSMC fell 1.24% to NT$2,380 and MediaTek slipped 0.55% to NT$4,560, while Foxconn gained 0.2% to NT$248.50. Optical component makers were hit hardest — Largan Precision and Genius Electronic Optical both hit daily limit-down after Morgan Stanley and UBS downgrades — while cybersecurity and power-infrastructure stocks rallied on Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's endorsement of cybersecurity as critical to AI buildout.