Taiwan activated its market backstop on Friday, 6 November: the National Financial Stabilization Fund authorised its executive secretary to deploy funds as needed to steady the stock market, after the benchmark TAIEX closed down 4.51 percent - a fall of 1,873.08 points to 39,701.64 - capping the index's worst week since 2001. It is the fund's tenth intervention since it was established in 2000.

Source: Dow Jones via Morningstar, Nov 6, 2026

The fund's management committee held its 131st extraordinary meeting at 2:30 p.m. Taipei time on Friday, after trading ended, and decided by consensus under Article 8 of the National Financial Stabilization Fund Establishment and Management Act, according to the account of the Ministry of Finance statement carried by Asia Daily. Deputy Finance Minister Juan Ching-hwa, the fund's executive secretary, will oversee the response. The committee announced no initial purchase amount and no timetable for buying, and it must report the decision to the Legislative Yuan within three months.

Source: Asia Daily, reporting Taiwan Ministry of Finance statement, Nov 6, 2026

The regulator moved on the same day. Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) announced five measures taking effect on Monday, 9 November: intraday orders to sell borrowed shares will be capped at 3 percent of a stock's average daily volume over the prior 30 days, down from 30 percent; the minimum margin on short sales rises to 130 percent, from 90 percent; and the package adds greater flexibility for investors providing collateral and encouragement for listed companies to buy back shares and explain their financial position to investors.

Source: Edge Consultancy, reporting Taiwan FSC announcement, Nov 6, 2026

Friday's rescue package followed the region-wide AI selloff that Awaaz Punjab reported earlier in the day, when South Korea's Kospi tripped a circuit breaker and Asian chip stocks crumbled. Read the earlier report: Asia stocks crumble in the AI rout

The trigger was the global selloff in artificial-intelligence stocks that followed the United States midterm elections. Taiwan's shares have fallen more than 20 percent from this year's high, and the Finance Ministry pointed to continued net selling by foreign investors, weak market confidence and high international uncertainty as the reasons the fund's conditions were met, according to summaries of its statement. Taiwan sits at the centre of the world's advanced chip supply chain, so a disorderly fall in Taipei is watched far beyond the island.

Source: Finimize, reporting Taiwan Finance Ministry statement, Nov 6, 2026

South Korea moved in parallel. Morningstar's Dow Jones report noted Taiwan was joining South Korea in acting to stem the bleeding in local equities, and market reporting on Seoul's package said that from 9 November brokers there will be exempt for three months from the rule requiring a 140 percent collateral ratio on margin loans, so they do not have to force-sell leveraged retail positions into the fall. Two of Asia's most chip-exposed markets are therefore starting the same week with emergency supports in place.

Source: Dow Jones via Morningstar, Nov 6, 2026