Taiwan’s stock market breaks 30,000-point barrier, cementing its place among world’s largest

For the first time in history, Taiwan's benchmark TAIEX index eclipsed the 30,000-point threshold, underscoring the rising global stature of its capital markets and the influence of its technology titans.

A milestone in market history

Taiwan's stock market reached a historic watershed on Jan. 6, 2026, as the Taiwan Stock Exchange Capitalization Weighted Stock Index (TAIEX) surged past 30,000 points for the first time, peaking at 30,576.3 on Tuesday. This milestone represents a striking ascent from year-end levels and reflects robust investor appetite across key sectors.

Prior to that, on Monday Jan. 5, the trading turnover already approached NT$765.8 billion (approximately US$24.4 billion), among the highest on record, as technology and semiconductor, notably TSMC, stocks powered the advance.

The engine: TSMC and tech companies

The principal driving force behind this surge was one of Taiwan's most globally renowned brand TSMC, the lynchpin of Taiwan's equity market. TSMC's share price reached a record NT$1,705, contributing significantly to the benchmark's climb on Jan 6.

Crucially, TSMC's market capitalization has vaulted to about US$1.671 trillion, elevating it to 6th largest in the world by market cap, ahead of major global corporations like Meta Platforms, Broadcom and Tesla, per CompaniesMarketcap.com.

Other leading tech and electronics firms, including IC designer MediaTek and IC packaging and testing company ASE Technology, as well as key semiconductor suppliers, also registered notable gains, underpinning the broader technology-led surge in Taiwan's stock market.

Global context: Taiwan among the heavyweights

This achievement arrives amid a backdrop of rising global market capitalizations. According to Yahoo, Taiwan's stock market now ranks 8th worldwide among all national exchanges, surpassing several major advanced economies such as Germany.

With total market cap north of around US$3.18 trillion, the rise of Taiwan's stock market has caught the eyes of global investors amid the surging demand of AI in recent years.

On Jan. 6, the South Korean KOSPI Index closed up 67.96 points on Jan. 6, a 1.52% increase, at 4,525.48 points, reaching a record high. Samsung Electronics, chip and defense stocks were at the center of such rise.

The Japanese Nikkei 225 Index closed up 685.28 points on the same day, a 1.32% increase, at 52,518.08 points. Chip and heavy industry stocks led the gains.

Behind the boom: High concentration on tech

Business Today, a Taiwanese magazine that focuses on business matters, cautioned on Jan 6. that despite the headline-grabbing rally, the market's internal dynamics revealed a pronounced imbalance.

The magazine went on to state that as TSMC continued to tower over the field, Taiwan's capital flows heavily skewed toward large-cap electronics, while the broader market lagged conspicuously.

It said that across the main board and the over-the-counter market combined, the number of declining and flat stocks was 3.72 times that of advancers.

A total of 1,233 companies were trading below their yearly average (or 240-day moving average), underscoring the fragility beneath the index's historic ascent.

That divergence was particularly stark on Monday Jan 5, said the magazine, when 1,398 stocks closed lower, far outnumbering the 409 gainers on the day.

The contrast laid bare a familiar but increasingly acute phenomenon in Taiwan: A record-high index masking widespread weakness at the individual stock level.

Looking ahead in 2026

With the TAIEX above 30,000 and total market valuation entering the upper echelons worldwide, Taiwan's capital markets have entered a new phase of global prominence. The performance lays bare the nation's integration with global technology demand and foreign investment flows.