Stocks dropped yesterday, amid concerns that the market may be overheating after its recent gains prompting investors to take profits on technology stocks, analysts said.
"The market is a little overheated after yesterday's hefty volume," said Robert Hsieh, a manager at Shinkong Securities Co (新光證券).
The TAIEX shed 9.06, or 0.2 percent, to 5,358.91. About three stocks gained for every two that declined. July futures on the index fell 0.1 percent to 5,375.
Turnover totaled NT$196.58 billion (US$5.72 billion), the highest since January last year.
The market was pressured by declines in heavyweight chipmaker stocks Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC,
TSMC fell after the government and the company raised $822 million selling American depositary receipts at a 0.7 percent discount to the company's US closing price. TSMC fell NT$1.50, or 2.4 percent, to NT$60.50. UMC lost NT$0.70, or 2.5 percent, to NT$27.10.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) rose NT$4.50, or 3.2 percent, to NT$143.50, after saying it will raise US$690 million selling bonds convertible to shares.
"Some investors are betting Hon Hai's major fund-raising plans show the company is confident in expansion again," said Simon Chao (趙永宏), a fund manager at President Investment Trust Corp (統一投信).
BenQ, the nation's largest mobile phone-handset maker, fell NT$1, or 2.3 percent, to NT$42.50 after Acer Inc sold 100 million BenQ shares for US$123 million. Acer sold the stake as it reorganizes to focus on its own brand.
China Steel Corp (中鋼) gained NT$1.10, or 4.4 percent, to NT$26.20, after saying its January to June pretax profit totaled NT$22.33 billion (US$650 million), up sharply from NT$5.16 billion in the same period a year earlier.
Kinpo Electronics Inc (金寶電子), the biggest maker of calculators in the country, rose NT$0.10, or 0.5 percent, to NT$21.20.
Kinpo aims to raise NT$1.2 billion by selling shares of its Thai unit in Taiwan to pay debt. Kinpo plans to offer 10 percent, or 30 million shares, this quarter of Cal-Comp Electronics (Thailand) Pcl as depositary receipts in Taiwan, Kinpo spokesman Teddy Tai said in a phone interview.
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦) rose NT$0.50, or 0.7 percent, to NT$89.50. Quanta sales last month rose to a record as it shipped more products to clients.
BUSINESS UPDATE: The iPhone assembler said operations outlook is expected to show quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year growth for the second quarter Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday reported strong growth in sales last month, potentially raising expectations for iPhone sales while artificial intelligence (AI)-related business booms. The company, which assembles the majority of Apple Inc’s smartphones, reported a 19.03 percent rise in monthly sales to NT$510.9 billion (US$15.78 billion), from NT$429.22 billion in the same period last year. On a monthly basis, sales rose 14.16 percent, it said. The company in a statement said that last month’s revenue was a record-breaking April performance. Hon Hai, known also as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), assembles most iPhones, but the company is diversifying its business to
Apple Inc has been developing a homegrown chip to run artificial intelligence (AI) tools in data centers, although it is unclear if the semiconductor would ever be deployed, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The effort would build on Apple’s previous efforts to make in-house chips, which run in its iPhones, Macs and other devices, according to the Journal, which cited unidentified people familiar with the matter. The server project is code-named ACDC (Apple Chips in Data Center) within the company, aiming to utilize Apple’s expertise in chip design for the company’s server infrastructure, the newspaper said. While this initiative has been
GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), the world’s No. 3 silicon wafer supplier, yesterday said that revenue would rise moderately in the second half of this year, driven primarily by robust demand for advanced wafers used in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, a key component of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. “The first quarter is the lowest point of this cycle. The second half will be better than the first for the whole semiconductor industry and for GlobalWafers,” chairwoman Doris Hsu (徐秀蘭) said during an online investors’ conference. “HBM would definitely be the key growth driver in the second half,” Hsu said. “That is our big hope
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