The TAIEX, Taiwan’s benchmark stock index, dropped 782 points, or 1.7%, to close at 45,677 on Thursday, snapping a four-session winning streak, as traders took profits after the index hit a record high in the previous session. The broader index pulled back from the record peak of 46,459 reached a day earlier, after closing above the 46,000 level for the first time as optimism over AI investment continued to lift sentiment. The index tracked a fall on Wall Street overnight amid renewed escalation of the Middle East conflict. The index was mainly weighed down by electronic technology and producer manufacturing stocks. Electronic technology stocks shed 2.2%, with TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, which accounts for more than 40% of the market's total value, falling 1.7% after gaining 1.7% on Wednesday. Other decliners included MediaTek (-2.5%), Delta Electronics (-1.2%), Hon Hai Precision (-5.2%), ASE Technology (-4.1%), and United Microelectronics (-4.2%).