TSMC is set to report a strong profit but Trump comments pummel its stock

TAIPEI: TSMC, the dominant maker of chips used in artificial intelligence (AI) applications, is expected to report another strong quarterly earnings on Thursday but its Taipei shares slid 4%, pressured by comments from Donald Trump on the industry.

While TSMC’s stock – and the broader Taiwan market – has reached record highs, it began slumping on Wednesday after Trump, the Republican U.S. presidential candidate, said Taiwan “did take about 100% of our chip business” and should pay the U.S. for its defence.