Taipei: Shares in Taiwan experienced a substantial surge, climbing over 1,500 points, marking the second-largest single-day point gain in the nation's history. This increase followed an agreement by U.S. President Donald Trump to a two-week truce with Iran, according to market dealers.
According to Focus Taiwan, the Taiex, which is the benchmark index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange, rose 1,531.56 points, a 4.61 percent increase, closing at 34,761.38 for the day. This gain is second only to the 1,608.27-point increase recorded on April 10, 2025. The trading turnover reached NT$856.26 billion (approximately US$26.73 billion), compared to NT$584.69 billion on the previous day, indicating increased investor activity spurred by the ceasefire agreement.
The truce facilitates the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz for the two-week duration, alleviating worries about crude oil supplies and subsequently reducing oil prices below US$100 per barrel. Concord Securities analyst Kerry Huang noted that improved market sentiment encouraged foreign institutional investors to move funds into the local market, benefiting large-cap tech stocks from fund inflows.
As reported by the Taiwan Stock Exchange, foreign institutional investors made net purchases of NT$117.77 billion in shares on Wednesday. Concurrently, the U.S. dollar depreciated by NT$0.182, closing at NT$31.785 against the Taiwan dollar.
The electronics sector led the market with a 5.44 percent rise. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), a major player accounting for over 40 percent of the market value, saw its shares rise by 4.84 percent, closing at NT$1,950.00 and contributing approximately 720 points to the Taiex's gains.
Other semiconductor companies also saw significant advances. ASE Technology Holding Co.'s shares increased by 8.81 percent, MediaTek Inc. gained 7.48 percent, and Nanya Technology Corp. climbed 8.25 percent. In addition, Delta Electronics Inc. achieved the maximum daily increase of 10 percent, while Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. saw a 4.95 percent rise.
Despite the overall positive trend, the drop in oil prices negatively impacted petrochemical stocks. Taita Chemical Co. fell 10 percent, Formosa Chemicals and Fibre Corp. declined by 1.10 percent, and Formosa Plastics Corp. dropped by 0.63 percent. However, Nan Ya Plastics Corp., the parent company of Nanya Technology, saw a 5.71 percent increase.
In the financial sector, which saw a 1.25 percent rise, Cathay Financial Holding Co. and Fubon Financial Co. experienced gains of 2.64 percent and 1.71 percent, respectively. Kerry Huang remarked that the rally pushed the Taiex above key technical resistance levels, making it technically more robust and potentially positioning it to challenge its historical intraday high of 35,579 points observed on February 26.