The TAIEX yesterday staged a strong comeback, rising 2.81 percent, or 250.58 points, to close at 9,152.88, led by local firms in Apple Inc’s supply chain as the iPhone 7 is turning out to be more successful and popular than expected, analysts said.
The rally came despite a correction on Wall Street over the four-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday and policy uncertainty ahead of meetings of the central banks of the US and Japan.
“The rebound was much stronger than expected because of pre-orders for Apple’s iPhone 7 blowing away expectations at US telecom providers,” Masterlink Securities Investment Advisory Corp (元富投顧) president Liu Kun-hsi (劉坤錫) said by telephone.
Turnover rose to NT$96.98 billion (US$3.08 billion), a 15.14 percent increase from Wednesday last week, the last day before the market closed for the holiday, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
Apple might sell as many as 100 million iPhone 7s by the end of the year, thanks to robust initial sales, which might be benefiting from rival Samsung Electronics Co’s recall of its Galaxy Note 7, foreign technology analysts forecast.
The exciting twists led institutional players to increase positions in local shares by a net NT$11.27 billion, while mutual funds added net holdings of NT$178 million, but proprietary traders trimmed holdings by NT$57.31 million, according to bourse tallies.
Foreign fund inflows elevated the New Taiwan dollar 0.76 percent to close at NT$31.450 against the greenback in Taipei trading, outpacing a 0.06 percent increase in both the Chinese yuan and South Korean won, the central bank said in a statement.
Currency transactions totaled US$1.045 billion on the Taipei Exchange, a significant increase from US$705 million on Wednesday on the back of better iPhone 7 sales, a trader at a local bank said.
Taiwanese firms supply chips, batteries, camera lenses, casings and other components for the iPhone 7, explaining a 4.29 percent rise in electronics firms, while semiconductor players advanced 4.11 percent and computer and peripheral makers rose 3.51 percent, the Taiwan Stock Exchange said.
The TAIEX might consolidate for the rest of the week until the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan announce their latest monetary policies, Liu said.
“Chances are the Fed will keep interest rates unchanged this month and save rate hikes for its meeting in December to better support economic growth,” Liu said, adding that the scenario would drive more foreign funds to emerging markets, including Taiwan.
However, the currency trader voiced caution, saying foreign exchange markets could turn around any time investors see fit.
The local currency might trade between NT$31.2 and NT$31.8 versus the US dollar in the near future, as the central bank will not tolerate excessive volatility, Liu said.
The central bank is due to review its policy rates later this month.
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
RSS