Taipei: Shares in Taiwan closed slightly higher Friday as contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) entered consolidation, falling back from a new closing high a session earlier, with buying rotating to other tech hardware manufacturers and lending support to the broader market, dealers said. The Taiex, the weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), ended up 17.49 points, or 0.07 percent, at 24,021.26 after moving between 23,967.99 and 24,131.46. Turnover totaled NT$420.58 billion (US$14.08 billion).
According to Focus Taiwan, on follow-through buying from a session earlier, when the Taiex soared 556 points, or 2.37 percent, the main board moved ahead to the day's high, rising almost 130 points in the early morning session before some investors shifted to the sell side to pocket gains, in particular from TSMC, capping the upturn by the end of the session, dealers said. TSMC's strong showing came as investors expect the chipmaker to secure an exemption from a 100 percent tariff on semiconductors planned by the Trump administration due to the company's massive investments in the United States.
TSMC, the most heavily weighted stock in Taiwan, fell 0.42 percent Friday to close at NT$1,175.00, off an earlier high of NT$1,185.00. TSMC's fall from the day's high cost the Taiex about 80 points. Among other semiconductor stocks, TSMC's application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design subsidiary Global Unichip Corp. shed 3.91 percent to end at NT$1,230.00 and TSMC's IC assembly equipment supplier Scientech Corp. dropped 0.94 percent to close at NT$369.50. However, IC packaging and testing services provider ASE Technology Holding Co. ended up 0.68 percent at NT$149.00.
Rotating buying remained in place to benefit other tech hardware makers, particularly among electronic component manufacturers. Power management solution supplier Delta Electronics Inc. rose 2.25 percent to close at NT$637.00, and printed circuit board maker Gold Circuit Electronics Ltd. jumped 10 percent, the maximum daily increase, to end at NT$409.00. With the tech sector still accounting for more than 70 percent of total turnover, old economy stocks were largely left behind.
In the old economy sector, Formosa Plastics Corp. lost 1.70 percent to close at NT$37.55, and Nan Ya Plastics Corp. dropped 0.94 percent to end at NT$36.80. Additionally, Shihlin Electric and Engineering Corp. fell 0.53 percent to close at NT$186.00, while Fortune Electric Co. gained 1.05 percent to end at NT$676.00. The financial sector rose 0.1 percent with Fubon Financial Holding Co. up 0.47 percent to close at NT$85.20, and Cathay Financial Holding Co. up 0.48 percent to end at NT$63.20. In contrast, Yuanta Financial Holding Co. shed 1.21 percent to close at NT$32.75.
The U.S. markets are expected to continue to dictate movements on the Taiex, so investors need to pay close attention to U.S. economic data for more clues about economic fundamentals. Foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$3.26 billion worth of shares on the main board Friday.