Share prices closed 0.71 higher yesterday, supported by the latest gains on Wall Street as investors banked on the current cycle of US interest rate hikes coming to an end sooner than later, dealers said.
They said further sharp gains in the NT dollar were taken positively as reflecting continued foreign investor interest in the market and boosting liquidity, especially in the tech sector.
The weighted index rose 47.57 points at 6,742.39, after moving between 6,708.59 and 6,763.86, on turnover of NT$139.14 billion (US$4.32 billion).
Risers led decliners 654 to 424, with 143 stocks unchanged.
The construction sector was up 3.28 percent and electronics added 1.16 percent, but tourism fell 1.50 percent.
"Liquidity-led buying served as the driving force for the market today," said Frank Lin, senior vice president at Fubon Securities Corp (
"Heavyweight stocks outperformed [the market], mainly due to the liquidity-driven interest," he said.
Lin added that rotational interest continues to dominate the broader market and can be expected to remain the case in the run-up to Lunar New Year.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) closed up NT$2.60 at NT$68.10 and United Microelectronics Corp (聯電) rose NT$0.60 at NT$18.85 following gains in their New York-listed shares on Friday.
Powerchip Semiconductor Corp
In the flat-panel display sector, AU Optronics Corp (
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
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