Stocks rose yesterday, with the key index climbing to its highest in 14 months.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC,
Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦) dropped on concern its 67 percent rally this year may have outpaced its profit growth. Asustek will report its first-half profit this month.
"Overseas demand has certainly accelerated, which is good for Taiwan's exporters," said Celine Chiang, who manages the US$16 million Chronicle Fund for Polaris International Securities Investment Trust Co (
"Investors are cautious about companies like Asustek Computer ahead of their first-half reports, especially when some of them have gained so much," she said.
The TAIEX added 28.06, or 0.5 percent, to 5,516.80, its highest close since June 18 last year. The turnover was NT$101.58 billion (US$2.94 billion), with 456 issues finishing higher, 222 lower and 98 unchanged.
Index futures expiring this month gained 0.9 percent to 5,539.
TSMC, the world's largest maker of computer chips on a subcontracting basis, rose NT$0.50, or 0.8 percent, to NT$61.50.
Asustek, the nation's largest maker of the boards that hold the chips that run computers, shed NT$1.50, or 1.6 percent, to NT$90.50.
Construction stocks were the best performers, surging 5.6 percent as a whole.
"Funds are still in the market, but their buying activity has turned to traditional names as the rally in techs comes to a halt," said Tu Jin-lung (杜金龍), vice president at Grand Cathay Securities Corp (大華證券).
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
TRANSFORMATION: Taiwan is now home to the largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, thanks to the nation’s economic policies President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday attended an event marking the opening of Google’s second hardware research and development (R&D) office in Taiwan, which was held at New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋). This signals Taiwan’s transformation into the world’s largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, validating the nation’s economic policy in the past eight years, she said. The “five plus two” innovative industries policy, “six core strategic industries” initiative and infrastructure projects have grown the national industry and established resilient supply chains that withstood the COVID-19 pandemic, Tsai said. Taiwan has improved investment conditions of the domestic economy
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],”
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