Taiwan's 10% Daily Price Limit and Other Rules for Foreign Investors

The Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) caps how far a stock can move in one day: 10% above or below that day’s reference price, which is normally the previous close. Trading in a single stock also pauses for two minutes when a trade would jump more than 3.5% from its recent average. Prices are set by call auctions at the open and the close, shares trade in lots of 1,000, trades settle two business days later, and a sale normally pays a 0.3% transaction tax. TSMC’s American depositary shares (TSM) trade in New York under US rules instead.

Dollar amounts below use the Bank of Korea (ECOS) rate of 32.444 NT dollars per US dollar for October 19, 2026.

How does the 10% daily limit work?

TWSE’s Operating Rules (Article 63) set the daily limit for stocks at 10% above and below the “auction reference price at market opening.” Article 58-3 says that reference price is the previous day’s closing price. On ex-dividend and ex-rights days, on a first listing day and when trading resumes after a suspension, the reference is set by separate rules instead. The 10% limit has been in place since June 1, 2015, TWSE says.

The limit has to land on a valid price. Article 62 sets the price steps (“ticks”): NT$5 for stocks at NT$1,000 or more, NT$1 from NT$500 to under NT$1,000, and smaller steps below that. Orders must be priced within the limit (Article 58), so the ceiling is the highest step that stays within +10%, and the floor the lowest step within −10%.

Some securities have no daily limit, according to TWSE’s trading page: newly listed common stocks in their first five trading days, ETFs that hold foreign securities, and government bonds, among others.

Korea’s limit is three times as wide: a KOSPI stock can move up to 30% a day (see why the KOSPI is so volatile). US stocks have no fixed daily cap. Their single-stock “Limit Up-Limit Down” bands, 5% to 20% for most stocks, are measured from the average price of the previous five minutes, and a stock that stays at a band for 15 seconds pauses for five minutes, according to the SEC’s Investor.gov.

What did the limit look like on TSMC’s sharpest day?

TSMC (2330) closed at NT$2,205 on July 30, 2026 (Taiwan Stock Exchange closing price). That made July 31’s limits:

• ceiling: 2,205 × 1.10 = 2,425.5, so NT$2,425 on the NT$5 grid;
• floor: 2,205 × 0.90 = 1,984.5, so NT$1,985.

On July 31 TSMC closed at NT$2,425, up NT$220 or +9.98%, at the ceiling. That was its largest one-day move in the closes from April 14 to October 20, 2026. The TAIEX (Taiwan Stock Exchange) rose 7.98% that day, from 39,933.30 to 43,119.75, and the KOSPI (Korea Exchange) rose 17.91%.

The jump followed the US session of July 30, which ended at 04:00 Taipei time, five hours before Taipei opened. In that session TSM rose from US$373.89 to US$402.47 (+7.6%, US regular-session closes), and the PHLX Semiconductor Index (Nasdaq) rose 8.2%, from 10,447.49 to 11,302.99. For how the two TSMC prices compare, see TSM vs 2330.

The largest fall in the same period was on July 17: from NT$2,470 to NT$2,290, −7.29%. That day’s floor was NT$2,225 (2,470 × 0.90 = 2,223, rounded up to the NT$5 grid), so the limit was not reached.

Can trading in a stock stop during the day?

Yes, briefly, for that one stock. TWSE calls it an “intraday volatility interruption.” If the price a trade would execute at is more than 3.5% away from the reference price, matching in that stock is postponed for two minutes. Orders can still be entered, changed and canceled. Trading then restarts with a call auction and returns to continuous matching.

The reference for this check is different from the daily-limit reference. In the first five minutes after the first trade it is that first trade’s price. After that it is the weighted average price of trades in the previous five minutes. Only day-valid limit orders trigger a pause; for market, IOC and FOK orders, the part that cannot execute inside the band is canceled instead. The check does not apply to stocks priced under NT$1 or to new listings in their first five days.

The open and close have their own brake. If the simulated auction price moves more than 3.5% from the previous simulated price in the last minute before the open (08:59–09:00) or the close (13:29–13:30), that stock’s opening is delayed two minutes, or its closing auction is moved to 13:33, with orders accepted from 13:31 to 13:33.

When does Taipei trade, and how is the close set?

Session (Taipei time)	Hours	How prices are set
Order entry	from 08:30	Simulated prices shown from 08:30
Opening	09:00	Call auction
Regular trading	09:00–13:25	Continuous matching, price then time priority
Closing	13:25–13:30	Call auction; its price is the closing price
After-hours fixed price	orders 14:00–14:30	Matched at 14:30 at that day’s closing price

Market orders are accepted only during continuous trading, not in the auctions. For these hours in Singapore and New York time, see the four closes.

What are board lots and odd lots?

A TWSE stock trades in units of 1,000 shares. Orders for 1 to 999 shares are odd-lot orders and go to separate sessions:

• Intraday odd lots: orders from 09:00 to 13:30. The first call auction is at 09:10, then one every five seconds (shortened from one minute on December 2, 2024). Limit orders only, valid for the day, within the same 10% limit.
• After-hours odd lots: orders from 13:40 to 14:30, one call auction at 14:30.

Focus Taiwan reported on August 21, 2026 that from December 7 intraday odd-lot matching will start at 09:00 instead of 09:10, with orders taken from 08:30.

Lot size matters for TSMC. At the October 19 close of NT$2,420, one board lot of 1,000 shares cost NT$2,420,000, about US$74,590; one share was about US$74.59. In July Taiwan News reported a TWSE proposal to cut the price step for stocks above NT$1,000 from NT$5 to NT$1, which the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said still needs approval. For now the step is NT$5.

When do trades settle, and what does a sale cost?

Normal trades settle two business days after the trade date (T+2), under Article 61 of TWSE’s Operating Rules; TWSE is the clearinghouse. US trades moved to T+1 on May 28, 2024, under SEC rules.

Costs, according to TWSE’s 2025 investor guide and the Securities Transaction Tax Act:

• Securities transaction tax: 0.3% of the value traded, paid by the party disposing of the shares. On one TSMC lot at NT$2,420 that is NT$7,260 (about US$223.77).
• Day trades: 0.15% instead, for same-day offsetting trades from April 28, 2017 to December 31, 2027 (Article 2-2, amended January 2, 2025).
• Commission: set by each broker.
• Capital gains: not taxed for individuals.
• Dividends: 21% withheld for non-residents.

Can you purchase and dispose of the same stock on the same day?

Yes, through spot-market day trading, allowed since June 30, 2014. The investor needs a brokerage account open for three full months and at least 10 executed trades in the past year (margin-account holders and professional institutions are exempt), plus a signed authorization agreement and a risk disclosure statement. Offsetting trades must be in the same stock, the same quantity and the same account, and only the price difference is settled. Odd lots and block trades are excluded, and so is any stock TWSE has placed under an altered trading method or disposition measures.

Who can trade on the TWSE directly?

Investors outside Taiwan must register with the TWSE first (Article 10 of the FSC’s Regulations Governing Investment in Securities by Overseas Compatriots and Foreign Nationals). TWSE’s guide says they appoint a local agent, a custodian bank, to apply; only then can a Taiwan broker open an account and trade for them. TWSE calls them foreign institutional investors (FINIs) and foreign individual investors (FIDIs). The FSC sets the investment limits for foreign individuals (Article 12).

The Taiwan map shows TSMC’s daily moves next to other Taiwan chip stocks.