Stocks fell, snapping a three-day rally. AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) declined on concern their gains this year may have outpaced earnings growth.
The TAIEX shed 42.77, or 0.8 percent, to 5673.18. The futures contract for September delivery fell 1.4 percent to 5675. About three stocks declined for every two that gained.
AU Optronics fell as some investors worried the stock's 123 percent gain this year has outpaced its profit growth. Shares of TSMC have gained 69 percent this year, compared with the 27 percent gain in the key index.
"Stocks that have rallied too far ahead of the recovery will have to be pulled back and wait for the recovery to catch up," said Barro Liao, who helps manages the equivalent of US$4.2 billion in Taiwan equities at Prudential Securities Investment Trust Co (
TSMC fell NT$0.50, or 0.8 percent, to NT$66.50. AU Optronics fell NT$1.50, or 3.3 percent, to NT$43.40.
China Airlines Co (華航), the country's largest airline, gained NT$0.05, or 0.4 percent, to NT$13.95 on optimism after an increase in travel in the Asia-Pacific region. Abacus International Pte, Asia's largest travel and airline ticket reservation company, said bookings in the region rose by almost 15 percent in July from a year ago after SARS was contained. Rival EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) rose NT$0.30, or 2.3 percent, to NT$13.20.
China Development Financial Holding Corp (中華開發金控) fell NT$0.25, or 1.9 percent, to NT$12.75 after foreign investors sold 13 million more shares than they bought of the company on Tuesday.
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
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
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
FUTURE PLANS: Although the electric vehicle market is getting more competitive, Hon Hai would stick to its goal of seizing a 5 percent share globally, Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), a major iPhone assembler and supplier of artificial intelligence (AI) servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s chips, yesterday said it has introduced a rotating chief executive structure as part of the company’s efforts to cultivate future leaders and to enhance corporate governance. The 50-year-old contract electronics maker reported sizable revenue of NT$6.16 trillion (US$189.67 billion) last year. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has been under the control of one man almost since its inception. A rotating CEO system is a rarity among Taiwanese businesses. Hon Hai has given leaders of the company’s six