Stocks fell for a third day yesterday, with sentiment undermined by Wall Street's weakness and damage caused by Typhoon Mindulle, dealers said.
Cement and steel shares outperformed on expectations that they could benefit from reconstruction demand, they said. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and United Microelectronics Corp (聯電) led declines among chipmakers after Deutsche Bank AG joined Morgan Stanley in saying Intel Corp's revenue may fall short of forecasts. The TAIEX slid 86.92, or 1.5 percent, to 5,659.78, on turnover of NT$43.86 billion (US$1.3 billion). About four shares fell for each that rose. Futures for July delivery shed 1 percent to 5,597.
Trading was below average after Typhoon Mindulle killed at least 18 people and caused about NT$2.4 billion (US$71 million) in damage, according to the government. "The market trended down mainly because there was no reason to buy shares, not even bargain-hunting," First Taisec Securities fund manager Lee Chien-wei said. However, the losses in relatively modest trade could be laying the basis for a technical rebound in the near term, he said.
"Now that the benchmark index is coming close to around 5,500 points, the chances of a bounce on technical grounds are rising," he added. Taiwan Cement Corp (臺泥) was up 2.63 percent at NT$15.60, Asia Cement Corp (亞泥) up 0.54 percent at NT$18.70, Tung Ho Steel Enterprise Corp (東鋼) 0.38 percent higher at NT$26.30 and Yieh Loong Steel Co (燁隆) up 2.41 percent at NT$14.90. China Steel Corp (中鋼), the country's largest steelmaker, was unchanged at NT$31.60.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world's largest supplier of made-to-order chips, fell 3 percent to NT$44.80. Rival United Microelectronics Corp lost 2.5 percent to NT$23.80.
Nanya Technology Corp (
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
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
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