Share prices closed 0.24 percent higher in active trade yesterday, with sentiment supported by institutional investor interest and further bolstered by Wall Streets' overnight gains, dealers said.
Despite some profit-taking and expectations of technical resistance around 6,800 points, the market closed in positive territory on the prospects for further growth in corporate earnings in the second quarter after a robust first quarter.
The TAIEX closed up 16.55 points at 6,794.33, on turnover of NT$184.31 billion (US$5.6 billions).
Risers led decliners 442 to 382, with 148 stocks unchanged. Some 51 stocks closed limit-up, with two limit-down.
The glass sector was up 6.05 percent, cement up 2.88 percent and financials up 0.14 percent.
The auto sector was down 0.31 percent and electronics off 0.02 percent.
"Investors have gradually become used to the political uncertainties [following the March 20 election] and have shifted focus to the fundamentals," said Michael On, president at Beyond Asset Management.
Some investors were cautious ahead of US first quarter results reports while others bought in on hopes for a strong second quarter.
"There may be technical resistance and profit-taking in the near term but the index is poised to test 7,000 points this quarter on the back of [a strong] economic and corporate performance," On said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) lost NT$0.50 at NT$60.50 and United Microelectronics Corp (聯電) was down NT$0.20 at NT$31.70.
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
The consumer price index (CPI) last month eased to 1.95 percent, below the central bank’s 2 percent target, as food and entertainment cost increases decelerated, helped by stable egg prices, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. The slowdown bucked predictions by policymakers and academics that inflationary pressures would build up following double-digit electricity rate hikes on April 1. “The latest CPI data came after the cost of eating out and rent grew moderately amid mixed international raw material prices,” DGBAS official Tsao Chih-hung (曹志弘) told a news conference in Taipei. The central bank in March raised interest rates by