Taiwan's stock market dropped sharply and closed under a key technical level, a bad sign for investors after August's weak rally.

• The index fell nearly 600 points to about 44,719, and trading volume shrank.
• The trigger was global: the US-Iran conflict, rising oil prices, and government bond yields jumping, with US 30-year yields at their highest in nearly 20 years.
• Chip stocks were dumped hard — the Philadelphia semiconductor index fell 5% — and Japanese and Korean markets opened sharply lower.
• Big institutional investors, including foreign funds, sold heavily, together dumping over NT$70 billion in one day.
• Bargain hunters stepped in mid-session and lifted passive components, power chips, and cooling stocks, trimming the loss.

Outlook: Support is seen around 44,000–44,500 with more choppy trading likely, and the next direction hinges on what the Fed's meeting minutes signal about interest rates.