Taiwan's stock market fell sharply as tensions between the United States and Iran escalated and oil prices swung at elevated levels — bad news for investors holding shares, with a strong wait-and-see mood prevailing in the short term.

• The market plunged by nearly 1,000 points at one point during trading on the 11th, finishing at 46,184. Even record-high August revenue at TSMC could not hold up the index.
• Foreign investors dumped NT$89.2 billion in a single day, and the three major institutional investors combined were net sellers of more than NT$100 billion. Turnover did not expand, however, indicating that buyers are still waiting on the sidelines.
• The real source of pressure is oil prices driven up by geopolitics. As long as Brent crude keeps closing in on US$110 a barrel, the shadow of high inflation will not lift.
• The producer price index rose 5.4% year-on-year in August, with diesel surging 24% in the month alone, and energy costs have already begun to eat into corporate profits.
• Heavyweight electronics stocks weakened and funds rotated into financials, with market attention shifting to the Fed's interest rate meeting in mid-September.

Outlook: The short-term keys are the CPI and the Fed's decision, but as long as the US-Iran situation and oil prices fail to cool, Taiwan stocks will struggle to stabilize.