Stocks declined, led by exporters such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC,
Exports last month rose 4.5 percent from a year ago to US$11.6 billion, the government said on Thursday after the market closed.
The TAIEX shed 26.52, or 0.5 percent, to 5,232.55. The index fell for a second week, losing 2.9 percent. Index futures expiring in August fell 1.4 percent to 5,206. About three stocks fell for every two that gained.
An average of 3.5 billion shares changed hands a day this week, the slowest trading week since the five days ended May 23.
"Investors are reluctant to put more money into equities until economic reports show a solid recovery," said Jim Chang, who helps manage the equivalent of US$495 million at ABN Amro Asset Management Taiwan Ltd in Taipei.
Also, "an increasing number of investors are going on their summer vacations," he said.
TSMC fell NT$2, or 3.3 percent, to NT$58. Rival UMC fell NT$0.40, or 1.8 percent, to NT$22.50.
AU Optronics Corp (友達光電), the world's fourth-largest maker of flat-panel displays for personal computers, rose for a second day after quadrupling its pretax profit forecast this year because of demand for computer panels. AU Optronics added NT$1.40, or 4 percent, to NT$36.30.
China Steel Corp (
Siliconware Precision Industries Co (矽品), the world's third-largest chip packager, gained NT$1.60, or 6.7 percent, to NT$25.40 after it said second-quarter profit more than tripled. Siliconware Precision said net income increased to NT$639 million ($19 million) in the three months ended June 30 from NT$185 million a year earlier.
Yulon Motor Co (裕隆) added NT$0.30, or 0.8 percent, to NT$40.30 after it said sales last month rose 23 percent to NT$3.7 billion from a year ago.
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
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
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