By closing, the TAIEX fell 161.45 points, or 3.6 percent, to close at 4,356.98, snapping a five-day winning streak. The NT fell NT$0.139 to close at NT$33.489 against the greenback.

The TAIEX yesterday opened at 4,310.5, or 207.5 points down from Monday’s close, after poor performances of U.S. stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 679.95 points, or 7.7 percent, to 8,149.09, with all 30 companies declining. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 9 percent to 1,398.07. The S&P 500 sank 8.9 percent to 816.19, with financial stocks in the index tumbling a record 17 percent as a group.

The declines came after a panel at the National Bureau of Economic Research said the U.S. economy has been in recession since December 2007. The news added to growing concerns that the global economic slump is deepening and consumers’ access to credit is shrinking.

In individual stocks, Hua Nan Financial Holdings Co. lost NT$1.1, or 6.6 percent, to NT$15.7. The financial services company said its bank unit Hua Nan Commercial Bank recorded a loss of NT$1.09 billion on Iceland-linked investments.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. tumbled NT$2.75, or 6.7 percent, to NT$38.05. The world’s largest maker of chips designed by other companies cut its forecast for fourth quarter sales and profitability after shipments fell as a global economic slump crimped demand.

Wan Hai Lines Ltd. declined 45 cents, or 2.8 percent, to NT$15.5 after Credit Suisse Group cut its rating to “neutral” from “outperform.”

Yang Ming Marine Transport dropped 75 cents, or 6.2 percent, to NT$11.35. Credit Suisse Group cut the shipper’s rating to “underperform” from “neutral.”

As for currency, the NT fell after speculation China will let the renminbi fall to salvage the country’s exporters.

Yesterday, the People’s Bank of China set the reference rate at 6.8527 per U.S. dollar in Shanghai, compared with Monday’s fixing of 6.8505. The yuan fell as much as 0.5 percent from the central parity rate to 6.887 per dollar, touching the daily trading limit, after it slid 0.7 percent Monday, the biggest loss since the central bank ended a fixed exchange rate in 2005.

The yuan’s depreciation set off a spate of currency declines in markets across Asia as they felt the competitive pressure. Here in Taiwan, the NT opened at NT$33.35, which was the highest of the day. The currency fluctuated between NT$33.35 and NT$33.516 and closed at NT$33.489, on trade volume of US$778 million.

Many exporters in Taiwan are calling on the government to let the NT drop by another five to 10 percent. They made the appeal in the wake of a near 30 percent fall of the Korean won since the beginning of the year.

“The drop of the won has been significant, and tariffs between Korea and U.S. will be revoked starting in 2009 under the U.S.-Korea free trade agreement,” one exporter said. “If the NT does not depreciate further, Taiwan goods will no longer be able to compete with those made in Korea on the world stage.”

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