Tue, Feb 04, 2020 page12

• TAIEX drops 1.22% over virus concerns

  NOT ALL BAD: AU Optronics Corp and Innolux Corp saw their shares rebound, as they might see their orders rise if the coronavirus affects their competitors in China

  • By Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporter
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  The TAIEX yesterday shed 140.18 points, or 1.22 percent, to close at 11,354.92 points, as investors’ concerns over the spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus continued to affect market sentiment.

  The TAIEX fared worse than its neighboring peers. Shares in Hong Kong gained 0.17 percent yesterday, while equities in Japan dipped 1.01 percent and those in South Korea were flat.

  However, the Shanghai Composite Index dived nearly 8 percent on its first day of trading after the Lunar New Year holiday.

  

  A man looks at an electronic display at a brokerage in Taipei yesterday.

  Photo: CNA

  The drop in Taipei followed a more than 600-point plunge in the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Friday last week, as well as declines on the S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite, as the local equity market is sensitive to Wall Street’s movements, Hua Nan Securities Investment Management Co (華南投顧) chairman David Chu (儲祥生) said by telephone yesterday.

  “The TAIEX’s loss today was much lighter than its tumble of 696 points on Thursday last week,” Chu said. “At least, not all sub-indices retreated.”

  Turnover on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) was NT$180.168 billion (US$5.94 billion), up from NT$175.277 billion in the previous session.

  Data compiled by the TWSE showed that foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$1.22 billion in shares, which was surprising given that they sold a net NT$35 billion in shares during the previous two sessions, Chu said.

  Among shares that rebounded were flat-panel makers AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電) and Innolux Corp (群創光電), which were up 8.91 percent and 5.91 percent respectively.

  Some companies in the passive components industry also saw their share prices increase, Chu said.

  “These firms are expected to benefit from possible order gains, as their competitors in China might suffer order losses due to delayed production or reduced capacity,” he said.

  The food sub-index rose 0.23 percent, as some investors expected local companies to gain more orders as their Chinese peers had been affected by bird flu, Chu said.

  By comparison, suppliers of Apple Inc’s iPhones continued to see their share prices slide, amid concerns that sales of iPhones in China would slow due to the outbreak, he said.

  Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s Co (TSMC, 台積電) shares sank 1.56 percent to NT$315, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co’s (鴻海) fell 1.20 percent to NT$82.20 and Largan Precision Co’s (大立光) lost 2.19 percent to NT$4,700.

  Concord Securities Co (康和證券) said that TSMC recovered part of its earlier losses before the close, but the stock still traded below its 60-day moving average of NT$319, and therefore has become technically weaker.

  Chu said that the government might have activated the National Stabilization Fund to stabilize the local market, given that some investors stepped in later yesterday to limit the losses.

  However, it was difficult to see how much money was used, he added.
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