Stocks fell, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC,
The TAIEX index fell 90.21, or 1.6 percent, to 5,746.70 . The TAIEX electronics index accounted for 78 percent of the benchmark's drop. About three shares fell for each that rose. Futures for July delivery shed 1.9 percent to 5,655.
The benchmark fell 1 percent this week, after rising 4.2 percent the week before.
"The Intel news severely hit Taiwan's technology shares, as it could delay the expected high export season," said Winnie Tiao (
"This triggered worries over the outlook for semiconductors, motherboards and even notebook computers," he said.
Technology companies typically see their annual high export season from August to November, ahead of the Christmas shopping season. Many Taiwanese companies are key suppliers of US brands such as Dell Inc.
TSMC, the world's largest supplier of made-to-order chips, slumped 4.6 percent to NT$46.20.
United Microelectronics Corp (UMC,
Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦), the world's largest maker of boards that connect the chips in personal computers, fell 2 percent to NT$74. Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦), the world's largest notebook computer maker, tum-bled 6.3 percent to NT$67. AU Optronics Corp (友達光電), the world's third-largest flat panel display maker, lost 2.2 percent to NT$49.40.
Intel, the world's biggest chipmaker, fell 2.1 percent in regular trading, helping to send the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index to its biggest decline in almost four months.
Mark Edelstone, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, said on the firm's morning call that the midpoint of Intel's third-quarter earnings forecasts will probably be between US$8.5 billion and US$8.6 billion, below the average analyst estimate of US$8.75 billion, according to people familiar with his comments.
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
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],”
Thousands of parents in Singapore are furious after a Cordlife Group Ltd (康盛人生集團), a major operator of cord blood banks in Asia, irreparably damaged their children’s samples through improper handling, with some now pursuing legal action. The ongoing case, one of the worst to hit the largely untested industry, has renewed concerns over companies marketing themselves to anxious parents with mostly unproven assurances. This has implications across the region, given Cordlife’s operations in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, the Philippines and India. The parents paid for years to have their infants’ cord blood stored, with the understanding that the stem cells they contained
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day