{"id":61202,"date":"2026-04-22T23:38:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T03:38:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-markets-retreat-taiwan-equities-reverse-record-highs-as-european-futures-slump\/61202\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T23:38:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T03:38:33","slug":"global-markets-retreat-taiwan-equities-reverse-record-highs-as-european-futures-slump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-markets-retreat-taiwan-equities-reverse-record-highs-as-european-futures-slump\/61202\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Markets Retreat: Taiwan Equities Reverse Record Highs as European Futures Slump"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Taiwan&#39;s TAIEX index<\/strong> experienced a volatile session, dropping <strong>1.5%<\/strong> after hitting a new <strong>all-time record high<\/strong> earlier in the day.<\/li>\n<li><strong>European market futures<\/strong> for the <strong>EuroSTOXX 50<\/strong> and <strong>DAX<\/strong> fell more than <strong>1%<\/strong>, signaling a bearish start for Western markets following the Asian reversal.<\/li>\n<li><strong>HESTA<\/strong>, a major Australian pension fund, escalated its ESG pressure by rejecting <strong>Woodside Energy\u2019s<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/WDS\">WDS<\/a>) executive pay and opposing two director reappointments.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Lam Research<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/LRCX\">LRCX<\/a>) received a significant price target hike to <strong>$385<\/strong> from <strong>Susquehanna<\/strong>, reflecting strong demand for <em>semiconductor fabrication equipment<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Wabtec<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/WAB\">WAB<\/a>) saw its price target raised to <strong>$290<\/strong> by <strong>JPMorgan<\/strong> following a robust <strong>Q1 earnings beat<\/strong> that exceeded analyst expectations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The <strong>Taiwan Stock Exchange (TAIEX)<\/strong> saw a dramatic intraday reversal on Thursday, falling <strong>1.5%<\/strong> after briefly touching a <strong>new record high<\/strong> during the morning session. This volatility follows a period of intense gains driven by <em>AI-related semiconductor demand<\/em>, with market heavyweights like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (<a href=\"\/stock\/TSM\">TSM<\/a>) facing pressure as investors moved to lock in profits.<\/p>\n<p>European markets are poised for a difficult opening session as <strong>EuroSTOXX 50<\/strong> and <strong>DAX futures<\/strong> both declined by more than <strong>1%<\/strong>. The sell-off in European futures suggests a broader cooling of global risk appetite, potentially influenced by <em>geopolitical uncertainties<\/em> and <em>hawkish central bank sentiment<\/em> that has recently pressured major Asian currencies and equity markets.<\/p>\n<p>In corporate governance news, the Australian superannuation fund <strong>HESTA<\/strong> has taken a firm stance against <strong>Woodside Energy<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/WDS\">WDS<\/a>) at its latest meeting. The fund rejected the company&#39;s <strong>CEO pay package<\/strong> and voted against the reappointment of <strong>two directors<\/strong>, citing ongoing concerns over the company&#39;s <em>climate transition strategy<\/em> and <em>board-level accountability<\/em> for decarbonization targets.<\/p>\n<p>On the analyst front, <strong>Susquehanna<\/strong> raised its price target for <strong>Lam Research<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/LRCX\">LRCX<\/a>) to <strong>$385<\/strong> from <strong>$350<\/strong>, maintaining a positive outlook on the company&#39;s role in the <em>AI-driven wafer fabrication<\/em> sector. Simultaneously, <strong>JPMorgan<\/strong> increased its target for <strong>Wabtec<\/strong> (<a href=\"\/stock\/WAB\">WAB<\/a>) to <strong>$290<\/strong>, up from <strong>$280<\/strong>, following the company&#39;s recent <strong>Q1 2026 earnings report<\/strong> where it posted a significant beat on both the top and bottom lines.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Taiwan&#39;s TAIEX index experienced a volatile session, dropping 1.5% after hitting a new all-time record high earlier in 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