Taiwan stocks dropped 1.68 percent on Wednesday in their worst one-day percentage fall in nearly two months, as profit-taking set in following recent strong gains in banks, including Chang Hwa Bank. Fund managers, however, expected the correction to be brief as investors are still optimistic about the global economy.
The main TAIEX share index ended down 150.88 points at 8,846.31, its biggest single-day drop since November 12. State-run Chang Hwa sank 3.35 percent, pulling financial shares 1.7 percent lower. Shares of Chang Hwa had risen about 5 percent since the last week of December, while the broader market was little changed during the same period.