Taiwan's cash market closed Friday with NT$898.1 billion in turnover as Formosa Petrochemical and related energy listings absorbed a growing slice of the day's deal flow, even though semiconductor, electronic-component, and optoelectronic stocks still accounted for more than 72 percent of listed cash trading for the week, according to Taiwan Stock Exchange weekly statistics published Oct. 3.
Where the money sat on Friday
Wei-Ting Huang's desk tracks session skew separately from sector weights. On the final session of the week, dealers said block trades in AI leaders slowed while retail and proprietary money chased diesel-linked headlines that lifted Formosa Petrochemical, Formosa Chemicals & Fiber, and Taiwan Styrene Monomer near six percent gains. The TAIEX still finished at a record 48,475.74, but breadth narrowed: home-living names fell for the week while oil-and-gas jumped 13.08 percent, the exchange table showed.
Weekly turnover math
Listed stocks traded NT$3.3189 trillion in cash for the week ended Oct. 2, with semiconductors at NT$1.1358 trillion or 34.22 percent of the total, electronic components at NT$944.2 billion, and optoelectronics at NT$334.1 billion. The three groups combined exceeded 72 percent, mirroring the AI supply-chain concentration investors have carried since September. Average daily turnover for 2026 through Oct. 2 remained above NT$1 trillion, the exchange said, even as the index tested new highs.
Diesel jitters versus chip fatigue
Traders linked Friday's energy bid to reports that Washington could temporarily restrict diesel exports while Chinese state refiners throttled product exports to cover domestic demand. That narrative does not change Taiwan's chip export outlook, but it does move crack-sensitive listings that hedge funds can trade faster than TSMC weightings. Several Taipei sales desks told InfoHandle they trimmed intraday AI beta into the close and rolled proceeds into liquid petrochemical tickets that respond to Singapore crack quotes overnight.
Technical levels dealers cited
CTEE-quoted analysts said the TAIEX held above 48,000 and its five-day average, but warned positive divergence from longer moving averages is widening—a pattern that often precedes sideways trade. For short-term accounts, 48,000 and the five-day line remain the support cluster to defend; a break would matter more for margin traders than for long-only pension funds still allocating via monthly programs.
What Monday's open will test
Taiwan's market is shut Saturday and Sunday, so offshore futures and U.S. semiconductor earnings will set the tone before locals react to any Ministry of Economic Affairs energy data. Stocks investors should watch whether Friday's petrochemical surge leaves follow-through buying or becomes a one-day mean-reversion story while chip heavyweights digest their weekly turnover dominance.
The skew story is simple: semiconductors still own the week's cash tally, but diesel-export jitters redirected Friday's marginal flow into Formosa-linked names at a record index print.
Options market
TAIEX call open interest stacked above 48,500 for October weekly expiries, implying dealers may sell into rallies unless foreign funds return Monday. Put skew steepened slightly Friday afternoon when energy names spiked, a hedge desk said.
Corporate actions
No major ex-dividend dates hit next week, leaving earnings pre-announcements as the main idiosyncratic catalyst. Petrochemical firms typically report monthly revenue by the tenth business day, giving investors a near-term checkpoint.