The nation's already sizzling stock market is expected to start bullish in the first trading day of the new year today, driven by anticipation of further cross-strait opening-up and investors' decreasing jitters concerning political risk, analysts said yesterday.
"We are bullish about the market that will continue to see an uptrend in the first quarter," Roger Chu (
The TAIEX is expected to start high and end with more than a 1 percent gain, or more than 70 points to 80 points, in the benchmark index today, Chu predicted.
With continued capital injection and expected uptick momentum, the TAIEX is expected to hit 8,000 points in the first quarter, the market watcher said.
On Friday, the stock market rounded off last year with the TAIEX closing up 90.79 points, or 1.17 percent, at 7823.72, a year high, registering a nearly 20-percent gain in the benchmark index over the course of the last 12 months.
The Cabinet later gave investors an end of year present by announcing further cross-strait relaxation, including allowing Taiwanese semiconductor makers to manufacture chips using 0.18-micron processing technology in China, a more advanced manufacturing technology than the currently approved 0.25-micron.
However, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said in his New Year speech yesterday that the government would retain restrictions on investment in China, citing an unnamed survey result that 56.7 percent of people were against loosening the cross-strait ties before public consensus was met.
Chen stressed the priority of putting Taiwan first and identification with Taiwan in formulating cross-strait economic policy.
"We do not expect Chen's remarks will have an impact on the market," said Kevin Li (
Further opening-ups are expected this year, Li said, predicting selected easing of restrictions that cap China-bound investment at 20 percent to 40 percent of a company's net worth and possible commencement of direct flights this year or next.
Both Shin Kong Investment and Taiwan Securities expect the TAIEX to hit 8,500 points in the fourth quarter of this year after correction in the second quarter.
Taiwan Securities expects to see decent performance by chipmakers, driven by the government's announced relaxation, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (
Other picks include companies that enjoy a leading or even oligopoly status in their industries, like Uni-President Enterprises Corp (
BYPASSING CHINA TARIFFS: In the first five months of this year, Foxconn sent US$4.4bn of iPhones to the US from India, compared with US$3.7bn in the whole of last year Nearly all the iPhones exported by Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) from India went to the US between March and last month, customs data showed, far above last year’s average of 50 percent and a clear sign of Apple Inc’s efforts to bypass high US tariffs imposed on China. The numbers, being reported by Reuters for the first time, show that Apple has realigned its India exports to almost exclusively serve the US market, when previously the devices were more widely distributed to nations including the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. During March to last month, Foxconn, known as Hon Hai Precision Industry
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) yesterday announced the launch of the TSMC-UTokyo Lab to promote advanced semiconductor research, education and talent development. The lab is TSMC’s first laboratory collaboration with a university outside Taiwan, the company said in a statement. The lab would leverage “the extensive knowledge, experience, and creativity” of both institutions, the company said. It is located in the Asano Section of UTokyo’s Hongo, Tokyo, campus and would be managed by UTokyo faculty, guided by directors from UTokyo and TSMC, the company said. TSMC began working with UTokyo in 2019, resulting in 21 research projects,
Ashton Hall’s morning routine involves dunking his head in iced Saratoga Spring Water. For the company that sells the bottled water — Hall’s brand of choice for drinking, brushing his teeth and submerging himself — that is fantastic news. “We’re so thankful to this incredible fitness influencer called Ashton Hall,” Saratoga owner Primo Brands Corp’s CEO Robbert Rietbroek said on an earnings call after Hall’s morning routine video went viral. “He really helped put our brand on the map.” Primo Brands, which was not affiliated with Hall when he made his video, is among the increasing number of companies benefiting from influencer
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) yesterday expressed a downbeat view about the prospects of humanoid robots, given high manufacturing costs and a lack of target customers. Despite rising demand and high expectations for humanoid robots, high research-and-development costs and uncertain profitability remain major concerns, Lam told reporters following the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Taoyuan. “Since it seems a bit unworthy to use such high-cost robots to do household chores, I believe robots designed for specific purposes would be more valuable and present a better business opportunity,” Lam said Instead of investing in humanoid robots, Quanta has opted to invest
RSS