Stocks rose for the first time in four days, paced by China Airlines Co (華航) and other companies that have been hurt by the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), after the Cabinet approved measures to defray business losses caused by the outbreak.
The plan, which must be approved by the legislature, involves spending NT$50 billion (US$1.4 billion).
``The government aid package may be enough to provide material relief to companies,'' said Barro Liao (廖國峰), who manages the US$52 million High-tech Fund at Prudential Securities Investment Trust Co (保誠投信).
"It certainly can boost investor confidence in the stock market," he said.
The TAIEX rose 60.82, or 1.5 percent, to 4,200.32. It had lost 9.3 percent in the previous three days. MSCI Taiwan futures for April delivery in Singapore climbed 2.4 percent to 181.10. The Taiwan Futures Index gained 1.7 percent to 4,195.
China Airlines jumped NT$0.60, or 5.4 percent, to NT$11.75.
EVA Airways Corp (
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦), which makes notebook computers at a plant near Shanghai, advanced NT$1, or 1.6 percent, to NT$65.
Asustek Computer (華碩電腦), which makes more of its motherboards in China, added NT$1.50, or 2.3 percent, to NT$68.
Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc (
Delta Electronics Inc (台達電子), a maker of computer-power systems and chargers, surged NT$2.50, or 6.9 percent, to NT$39. Delta said first-quarter profit rose 39 percent to NT$1.1 billion after sales, reported earlier, jumped 78 percent to NT$10.2 billion. Delta's customers include Dell Computer Corp and Hewlett-Packard Co.
Formosa Plastics Corp (
ProMOS Technologies Inc (
With rise in freight rates on long-haul US-bound services, Evergreen Marine (長榮海運) rose NY$0.90, or 4.1 percent, to NT$22.90, while Yangming Marine Transport (陽明海運) advanced NT$0.20, or 1.3 percent, to NT$15.70.
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has appointed Rose Castanares, executive vice president of TSMC Arizona, as president of the subsidiary, which is responsible for carrying out massive investments by the Taiwanese tech giant in the US state, the company said in a statement yesterday. Castanares will succeed Brian Harrison as president of the Arizona subsidiary on Oct. 1 after the incumbent president steps down from the position with a transfer to the Arizona CEO office to serve as an advisor to TSMC Arizona’s chairman, the statement said. According to TSMC, Harrison is scheduled to retire on Dec. 31. Castanares joined TSMC in
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the
FACTORY SHIFT: While Taiwan produces most of the world’s AI servers, firms are under pressure to move manufacturing amid geopolitical tensions Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) started building artificial intelligence (AI) servers in India’s south, the latest boon for the rapidly growing country’s push to become a high-tech powerhouse. The company yesterday said it has started making the large, powerful computers in Pondicherry, southeastern India, moving beyond products such as laptops and smartphones. The Chinese company would also build out its facilities in the Bangalore region, including a research lab with a focus on AI. Lenovo’s plans mark another win for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who tries to attract more technology investment into the country. While India’s tense relationship with China has suffered setbacks