Taipei: Shares in Taiwan closed higher Monday with contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) attracting strong buying ahead of its October sales report, dealers said. The Taiex, the weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), ended up 218.10 points, or 0.79 percent, at 27,869.51 after moving between 27,680.51 and 27,976.89. Turnover totaled NT$489.45 billion (US$15.82 billion).
According to Focus Taiwan, after falling 0.34 percent Friday, TSMC, the most heavily weighted local stock, staged a rebound, rising 1.03 percent to close at NT$1,475.00 Monday. This contributed about 120 points to the Taiex’s rise and sent the electronics index up 1.17 percent. Adam Lin, an analyst at Moore Securities Investment Consulting, noted, “In the current artificial intelligence boom, many investors are betting TSMC will report impressive October sales today so they resumed buying in the stock.” After the market closed, TSMC indeed reported a new monthly high of NT$367.47 billion in consolidated sales in October due to solid global demand for AI applications.
In addition to TSMC, other AI-related large caps also surged, further supporting the Taiex. iPhone assembler and AI server maker Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., second to TSMC in market value, climbed 2.25 percent to end at NT$249.50. Delta Electronics Inc., a supplier of power management solutions to AI devices, rose 1.76 percent to close at NT$982.00. Shares in Quanta Computer Inc., another AI server supplier, increased 1.57 percent to end at NT$291.50, while printed circuit board maker Gold Circuit Electronics Ltd. gained 3.77 percent to close at NT$482.00. Memory chip supplier Nanya Technology Corp. soared 10 percent, marking the maximum daily increase, to end at NT$161.50 amid a global supply shortage.
“The nontech sector was mixed, when these electronics heavyweights were under spotlight,” Lin added. Food brand Uni-President Enterprises Corp. lost 1.18 percent to close at NT$75.50, and cooking oil supplier Great Wall Enterprise Co. fell 1.30 percent to end at NT$53.00. Meanwhile, container cargo shipper Evergreen Marine Corp. dropped 2.41 percent to close at NT$182.50, and rival Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. ended down 2.39 percent at NT$53.00. Formosa Plastics Corp. saw a rise of 1.04 percent to close at NT$39.00, and Nan Ya Plastics Corp. added 1.65 percent to end at NT$43.25.
In the financial sector, which added only 0.19 percent, Fubon Financial Holding Co. edged up 0.11 percent to close at NT$90.60, and Cathay Financial Holding Co. ended up 0.47 percent at NT$63.80. Lin commented, “Today’s gains vaulted the Taiex past the 20-day average of 27,750 points, making the main board technically healthier,” but cautioned that “many investors are still watching whether the U.S. government will end the shutdown soon.”
According to the TWSE, foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$5.29 billion worth of shares on the main board Monday.