Stocks jumped 157.42 points yesterday to close at the highest level since March 19, despite Saturday's violent demonstration and an unexpected power failure in the nation's Silicon Valley on the same day.
Analysts attributed the surge to strong corporate earnings reports and investors' hope that no further major protests will be staged before May 20.
The TAIEX rose 2.38 percent to 6777.78, with gainers beating decliners 803 to 78, while 94 stocks ended unchanged.
The turnover was NT$156.55 billion.
Overseas investors bought a net of NT$3.71 billion, while domestic investment-trust investors and proprietary traders bought a net NT$3.89 billion, according to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
"Stocks rallied on optimism that the political clouds have gradually been clearing up, and investor confidence is further bolstered by solid fundamen-tals," Jones Wang (
More than 120 people were injured in the clashes between protesters and police on Saturday, while some 300 high-tech companies in the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park suffered an unexpected blackout, causing an estimated loss of NT$1.5 million.
Wang said the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) Central Executive Committee conference on Saturday proved that the party has the required attitude for long-term rule.
Also, the forensic specialist Henry Lee's (李昌鈺) investigation into the assassination attempt on President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) has helped reduce investors' distrust, Wang added.
Dave Chou (周顯黎), an assistant manager at Yuanta Core Pacific Capital Management, said that, as political variables are gradually diminishing and the power outage in the Hsinchu Science Park only had a temporary impact, there should be another reason behind the gains.
"The first-quarter corporate earnings reports are generally better than expected. I believe this is the major reason for today's [yesterday's] rosy performance," Chou said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manu-facturing Co, the world's largest made-to-order chipmaker, closed NT$1.00 higher at NT$61.00. The company is slated to report its first-quarter profit on April 30.
Robust gains in electronics and flat-panel stocks led the rise in the local bourse.
Powerchip Semiconductor Corp, the nation's third-largest maker of dynamic random access memory (DRAM), edged NT$0.6 higher to NT$38.6.
Quanta Display Inc, a flat-panel maker, advanced NT$1.8, or 6.7 percent, to NT$28.8, while AU Optronics Corp, the world's third-largest flat-panel display maker, surged NT$4.5, or 6.9 percent, to NT$69.5.
While some investors viewed yesterday's strong stock showing as a surprise, Allen Tseng (曾炎裕), an associate manager of Capital Securities Corp, didn't think so.
"The TAIEX initially rocketed by around 100 points after the market opened, but the rising power did not continue and the bourse closed with an increase of 157.42 points," Tseng said.
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
The final batch of 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks purchased from the US arrived at Taipei Port last night and were transported to the Armor Training Command in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), completing the military’s multi-year procurement of 108 of the tanks. Starting at 12:10am today, reporters observed more than a dozen civilian flatbed trailers departing from Taipei Port, each carrying an M1A2T tank covered with black waterproof tarps. Escorted by military vehicles, the convoy traveled via the West Coast Expressway to the Armor Training Command, with police implementing traffic control. The army operates about 1,000 tanks, including CM-11 Brave Tiger
China on Wednesday teased in a video an aircraft carrier that could be its fourth, and the first using nuclear power, while making an allusion to Taiwan and vowing to further build up its islands, as it looks to boost maritime power, secure resources and bolster territorial claims. The video, issued on the eve of the 77th founding anniversary of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, featured fictional officers with names that are homophones of three commissioned aircraft carriers, the Liaoning (遼寧), Shandong (山東) and Fujian (福建). Titled Into the Deep, it showed a 19-year-old named “Hejian” (何劍) joining the group, sparking
BIG YEAR: The company said it would also release its A12 chip the same year to keep a ‘reliable stream of new silicon technologies’ flowing to its customers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said its newest A13 chip is to enter volume production in 2029 as the chipmaker seeks to hold onto its tech leadership and demand for next-generation chips used in artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance-computing (HPC) and mobile applications. TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, also unveiled its A12 chip at its annual technology symposium in Santa Clara, California. The A12 chip, which features TSMC’s super-power-rail technology to provide backside power delivery for AI and HPC applications, is also to enter volume production in 2029, a year after the scheduled release of the A14 chip. The technology moves
RSS