The TAIEX may extend gains this year, Deutsche Bank AG said, citing a faster-than-expected recovery in the global economy.
The benchmark index may climb to 8,000, Deutsche Bank analyst Julian Wang (王俊朗) wrote in a report yesterday, raising a previous estimate of 7,000 and naming China Steel Corp (中鋼) and Far Eastern Textile Co (遠紡) among the bank’s top picks.
The TAIEX index rose 20.41 points, or 0.30 percent, to 6,868.65 yesterday as bargain hunters stepped in following recent falls, dealers said.
In volatile trade, the market opened slightly up before dipping to an intraday low of 6,776.08 in the morning before drifting back to positive territory.
“This was a rebound following the recent falls,” Allen Lin of Concord Securities Co (康和證券) said.
Having fallen below the 20-day moving average of 6,900 points, the market tested the 60-day moving average of about 6,685, he said.
“The market could continue to test the 60-day moving average next week,” Lin said.
The local bourse is closed today because of Typhoon Morakot.
The TAIEX has gained 49 percent so far this year, outpacing 76 other global indexes tracked by Bloomberg. Shares in the gauge are trading at 24 times current-year estimated earnings, almost triple the multiple of 8.5 times on Oct. 27.
With the global economy “recovering faster than expected, we believe investors will now feel more comfortable adding more positions in Taiwan,” Deutsche’s Wang wrote.
“Although the TAIEX does not seem cheap, the greater confidence in a cyclical recovery could lead to more earnings upside over the next six to 12 months than we had previously anticipated,” Wang said.
Taiwan and China are working to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to form a supervisory mechanism for financial services companies operating in both markets. The two sides also aim to start formal talks by October on an an Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, or ECFA.
“We believe the market underestimates the significance of the financial MOU and ECFA signing in terms of the long-term boost to retail confidence,” Deutsche Bank said. “Intensifying discussion on ECFA may generate more investor interest in industrial sectors such as chemicals and steel.”
Deutsche Bank raised its ratings on so-called upstream technology to “neutral” from “underweight” because of better-than-expected results and guidance, and advised clients to buy Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), Asustek Inc (華碩) and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海).
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