Analysts said the Taiwanese stock exchange’s benchmark index, the TAIEX, is closing in on 10,000 points and that foreign institutional investors are a key factor in determining when the barrier is breached.
The TAIEX on Friday gained 115.79 points, or 1.18 percent, in Taipei trading to close at a 15-year high of 9,913.28. Since the beginning of this year, the index has risen 6.51 percent after gaining 8.08 percent last year.
Due to foreign institutional investors buying local shares last week, the market capitalization of the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE, 台灣證券交易所) on Friday hit a new high of NT$28.74 trillion (US$925.57 billion), up NT$337.19 billion, or 1.19 percent, from Thursday.
Turnover expanded to NT$164.65 billion, the highest for a single session since Feb. 9, 2012, the exchange said. Since the beginning of this year, the aggregate turnover on the main bourse has stood at NT$6.84 trillion, with the average daily turnover totaling NT$96.35 billion, the exchange said.
Allianz Global Investors Taiwan Ltd (德盛安聯投信) fund manager Corrina Xiao (蕭惠中) said the momentum driving capital inflows could slow down, with investors still preferring large-weighted stocks because of their better profits and outlook, when publicly traded companies start to release their first-quarter earnings reports.
Some leading semiconductor stocks have trimmed their sales forecasts to reflect weaker fundamentals in the electronics sector during the second quarter, but semiconductor share prices have factored in near-term risks and would likely be supported by inventory replenishment later in the second quarter, Xiao said.
She recommended selected stocks in the Apple Inc supply chain, including suppliers of casings, camera lenses and flexible printed boards.
The financial sector is also trending up mainly as a result of early market optimism about the potential of a Taipei-Shanghai stock connect program, the details and potential benefits of which might be discussed after the presidential election next year, Xiao added.
Jih Sun Securities Investment Trust Co (日盛投信) fund manager Eric Shih (施生元) said Taiwan-listed companies made a record-high NT$1.8 trillion in net income last year, an 18 percent increase on the previous year.
Shih said he expected the TAIEX to be pushed higher after foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$68.8 billion shares on Thursday and Friday.
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