Biggest Margin Debt Unwind Since 1999 Spurred Taiwan Stock Rout
- Margin debt falls by most since July 1999: exchange data
- Benchmark index tumbles 8.4%, biggest one-day decline ever
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The unwinding of leveraged bets in Taiwan’s stock market on Monday accelerated panic selling, helping spark the biggest tumble in the benchmark index’s 57 year history.
The level of margin debt dropped by NT$18.3 billion ($560 million), the most since July 1999, according to exchange data compiled by Bloomberg. Just three weeks prior, debt levels had ballooned to the highest level since 2008 thanks to retail euphoria over the artificial intelligence boom.