The TAIEX moved higher and closed above the 9,700-point mark yesterday, bolstered by large-cap stocks, which maintained their momentum from a session earlier, dealers said.
Despite the gains, turnover remained thin, as many investors preferred to stay on the sidelines amid lingering concerns over trade friction between the US and China, and fears over a global economic slowdown, they said.
The TAIEX closed up 85.85 points, or 0.89 percent, at the day’s high of 9,727.41, with turnover of NT$73.774 billion (US$2.4 billion).
Foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$3.38 billion in shares on the market yesterday.
Yesterday was the last trading session for this year in Taipei, bringing an end to a year in which the TAIEX fell 915.45 points, or about 8.6 percent, according to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
“After the market closed above the 9,600-point level yesterday, the TAIEX became technically healthier, so buying continued today to lift the index higher,” Mega International Investment Services Corp (兆豐國際投信) analyst Alex Huang (黃國偉) said.
“Both electronics and old economy stocks rose, and telecom stocks posted large gains after consolidating in recent trading sessions, which helped the broader market exceed 9,700 points,” Huang said.
In the electronics sector, which closed up 1.09 percent, contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) rose 1.12 percent to close at NT$225.50, Largan Precision Co (大立光), a supplier of smartphone camera lenses to Apple Inc, rose 2.55 percent to NT$3,215, and power management solution provider Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) gained 1.57 percent to NT$129.50.
However, iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) underperformed the broader market, ending unchanged at NT$70.80.
“I expect the nearest technical resistance will be seen at about 9,800 points,” Huang said.
“I’m just afraid the Washington-Beijing trade dispute will continue to haunt global financial markets,” he said.
Market sentiment is also likely to be hindered by worries over the global economy and demand, Huang said.
“An earnings season on Wall Street and in Taiwan will start in mid-January and investors will want to know more about the outlook for the first quarter of next year,” he said.
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rose NT$0.069 to close at NT$30.733 against the US dollar in Taipei trading, central bank data showed.
Turnover totaled US$647 million at Taipei Forex Inc, compared with US$536 million a day earlier.
For the whole of this year, the NT dollar declined by NT$0.885, or 2.88 percent, against the greenback, Taipei Forex Inc data showed.
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