Taiwan surpassed India, becomes fifth largest stock market in world

Taiwan’s stock market value has reportedly reached $4.95 trillion, surpassing India’s $4.92 trillion market capitalisation. It is the fifth largest market in terms of capitalization, and makes it behind only the US, China, Japan and Hong Kong in global equity market rankings. 

The United States of America is the world’s largest market with a market cap of $77.96 trillion, followed by China and Japan with market caps of $15.57 trillion and $8.67 trillion respectively. For the first time in the Asian equity market, Taiwan surpassed India and currently stands at a $4.95 trillion market cap, as per reports. 

Taiwan’s market cap rise has been boosted after the chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world ‘s largest semiconductor manufacturer, shares surged 49% this year as global demand for AI chips exploded, as per reports.

TSMC now reportedly accounts for nearly 42% of Taiwan’s benchmark stock index, showing how heavily concentrated the market has become around one company. The report suggested that the company's advanced chips are used by Nvidia, Apple, Advanced Micro Devices, and Qualcomm. 

Meanwhile, India is facing an economic environment where energy costs are rising , slowing corporate earnings growth and sustained foreign investor outflows. Unlike Taiwan, India currently lacks globally dominant listed semiconductor or AI hardware companies that are attracting massive international capital amid the global artificial intelligence boom, as per reports citing experts.

Another major factor behind Taiwan surpassing India has reportedly been the continued withdrawal of foreign institutional investors (FIIs) from Indian equities. Investors have reportedly pulled billions of dollars out of Indian markets this year amid concerns over rising crude oil prices, rupee weakness, slowing earnings growth and elevated market valuations. The ongoing Iran conflict and higher global energy prices have impacted more, the reports cited.