The TAIEX, Taiwan’s benchmark stock index, dropped 620 points, or 1.4%, to close at 43,636 on Thursday, pulling back from a record high reached in the morning session, erasing gains from the previous day, mainly weighed down by electronic technology and technology services stocks amid profit-taking. The broader index retreated from the record high touched a day earlier, when it closed at 44,257 after surpassing the 44,000 level for the first time, mainly supported by a surge in electronic technology stocks amid optimism over AI demand. Electronic technology and technology services stocks fell 1.5% and 1.9%, respectively. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which accounts for more than 40% of the market’s total value, dropped 0.2%, while MediaTek and Delta Electronics plunged 5.0% and 5.2%, respectively, and Hon Hai Precision Industry declined 0.4%. However, renewed escalation in the Middle East conflict further pressured sentiment following US strikes on Iranian targets.