Stocks gained for a second day yesterday, led by exporters such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufac-turing Co (TSMC,
The TAIEX added 72.17, or 1.4 percent, to 5,390.51. About two stocks gained for every one that fell. The index shed 0.1 percent this week, declining only for a second week in 13.
August futures on the benchmark rose 1.1 percent to 5,390.
A US Labor Department report said initial jobless claims were 388,000 last week, less than expected by economists polled by Bloomberg. An index of Chicago-area manufacturing also rose to 55.9 last month from 52.5 in June, beating some economists expectations. A reading of more than 50 suggests expansion.
The US is Taiwan's second-largest export market after China.
"The latest US economic indicators have eased investors' concerns about whether the recent stock rally is sustainable," said Yu Reming, who oversees the equivalent of US$4.2 billion in stocks at Prudential Securities Investment Trust Co.
"An improved US economy will provide the engine to pull exporters worldwide out of the murkiness," Yu said.
TSMC, which gets three-quarters of its sales from the US, rose NT$1, or 1.7 percent, to NT$60. Foreign investors bought a net 40 million shares of the company on Thursday, more than any other stock, according to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Quanta Computer, the world's largest notebook computer maker that counts Dell Inc as its biggest customer, rose NT$4, or 4.9 percent, to NT$85.
About 4.1 billion shares changed hands, 6 percent below the average trading in the past three months. The value of trading was NT$103.4 billion ($3 billion), 11 percent above the three-month daily average.
Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp(
Taiwan Cellular Corp. (
Acting chairman Daniel Tsai (蔡明忠) announced the measures, which include the sale of a one-third stake in Taiwan Cellular owned by affiliate Taiwan Fixed Network Ltd (台灣固網), at a press conference on Thursday.
VIA Technologies Inc (威盛), the world's second-largest maker of chipsets for personal computers, rose NT$3.50, or 6.3 percent, to NT$59.50. VIA will start selling processors to Motorola Inc for use in digital television equipment, a Chinese-language newspaper reported, citing unidentified officials.
VIA, which will ship more than 10,000 processors to Motorola, expects sales of the chips this year to increase by about 50 percent to 270 million units, the report said.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last