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.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique