Stocks rose after US economic reports spurred optimism that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates this week, boosting the allure of equity investments. Computer-parts makers such as Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦) led gains.
Stocks also rose after a US judge approved most of the antitrust settlement between the Bush administration and Microsoft Corp, averting penalties that Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said would force the company to pull its Windows operating system from the market.
The TAIEX rose 83.13, or 1.9 percent, to close at 4,583.68. More than two stocks rose for every one that fell. The total value of trade was NT$82.56 billion (US$2.38 billion), 29 percent above the three-month daily average.
Reports in the US on Friday showed unemployment rose and manufacturing slowed in the world's biggest economy last month. The Fed is due to announce its rates decision tomorrow.
"The economy's weakness is already factored into stock prices," said Joseph Hsu, who helps manage about NT$600 million in stocks at Fuh Hwa Cheng Ching Capital Management Co (復華證金投顧). With an expected interest rate cut, "more and more money will flow from the bond market into the stock market."
Quanta, whose customers include Dell Computer Corp, rose NT$2.50, or 3.6 percent, to NT$73. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which sold more than three-quarters of its chips to US customers in the third quarter, rose NT$2, or 4.4 percent, to NT$47.
Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦) rose NT$1, or 1.4 percent, to NT$73. Taiwan's largest computer-circuit-board maker may post record sales in October after Hewlett-Packard Co began increasing orders to computer-parts makers from the fourth quarter.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
Thousands of parents in Singapore are furious after a Cordlife Group Ltd (康盛人生集團), a major operator of cord blood banks in Asia, irreparably damaged their children’s samples through improper handling, with some now pursuing legal action. The ongoing case, one of the worst to hit the largely untested industry, has renewed concerns over companies marketing themselves to anxious parents with mostly unproven assurances. This has implications across the region, given Cordlife’s operations in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, the Philippines and India. The parents paid for years to have their infants’ cord blood stored, with the understanding that the stem cells they contained