Taiwan's stock market opened sharply lower, at one point dropping more than 600 points and losing the 46,000 level — bad news for Taiwanese investors, though Friday's rebound on Wall Street may help steady the market.

• The TAIEX opened lower and fell more than 600 points during the session, touching a low of 45,499.
• Heavyweight stocks weakened across the board, with TSMC, Hon Hai, Delta Electronics and MediaTek all declining.
• US stocks closed broadly higher on Friday as oil prices retreated and August CPI came in line with expectations; the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq each gained nearly 1%.
• US inflation rose 3.4% year-on-year in August, and the market now sees a Federal Reserve rate hike next week as all but certain, with the probability as high as 90%.
• Tensions in the Middle East have pushed oil prices higher, with Brent crude still above US$104 a barrel — seen as the biggest threat to the market ahead.

Outlook: With the US, Japanese, British and Taiwanese central banks all announcing interest rate decisions this week, plus the settlement of Taiwan index futures and the disruption from oil prices, Taiwan stocks may continue to swing in the near term, with a chance to mount a rebound only after Wednesday's settlement passes.