Shares lower on Fed fears
Shares closed 0.48 percent lower yesterday as some investors sold stocks ahead of an impending US Federal Reserve decision on interest rates, dealers said.
Technology firms such as Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (奇美電子) and Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦) rose after reporting solid earnings and an upbeat outlook, but they failed to lift the market as a whole, they said.
The TAIEX closed down 46.56 points at 9,711.37. Turnover was NT$184.93 billion (US$5.71 billion).
Decliners led risers 1,374 to 694, with 225 stocks unchanged. A total of 19 stocks closed limit-down and nine limit-up.
"There was a general sense of uncertainty about where the Fed rate might be headed," said Alvin Teng (鄧可欣), assistant vice president at SinoPac Securities (永豐金證券).
SPIL reports record earnings
Siliconware Precision Industries Co (SPIL, 矽品), the nation's second-largest chip packaging and testing service provider, yesterday reported record high earnings for the third quarter on resilient demand.
Net income grew 61 percent year-on-year to NT$5.06 billion, or NT$1.66 per share, from NT$3.14 billion, or NT$1.08 a share, in the same period last year.
SPIL chairman Lin Wen-po (林文伯) said revenues may increase 2 percent to 5 percent in the fourth quarter from NT$17.91 billion in the third quarter. Net income may grow further this quarter because of higher asset gains, Lin said.
Operating margin, however, may slide to 25 percent to 27 percent from 27.3 percent last quarter, Lin told investors.
Gross margin also set all time high at 31.7 percent last quarter, from 27.1 percent a year ago and 30.5 percent in the second quarter.
Shin Kong to auction building
Shin Kong Bank (新光銀行) -- a subsidiary of Shin Kong Financial Holding Co (新光金控) -- plans to liquidate its 14-story financial building located on Minsheng E Road in Taipei during an open auction scheduled for Dec 10.
The building's floor price has been set at NT$7 billion, auctioneer DTZ Pacific Holdings Ltd said.
DTZ president Billy Yen (顏炳立) estimated that the deal's closing price may jump above NT$8.5 billion or NT$9 billion as over 40 potential bidders from Hong Kong have expressed great interest.
He said using an asking price of NT$7 billion, that the building would have a high return of between 4.6 percent and 4.8 percent from rentals, which would be lowered to approximately 3.9 percent if the deal was done at NT$9 billion.
Shin Kong has been forced by a law which restricts banks from investing in properties worth over 10 percent of their capital to sell off the lucrative rental building where several multinational companies are headquartered.
Non-banking loans proposed
The Cabinet yesterday approved a draft regulation that would legalize short-term financing by non-banking companies, it said.
Under the proposal, which still requires approval from the legislature, companies that do not operate savings deposits and other banking businesses would be allowed to offer short-term financing to the needy, the Cabinet said in a statement.
The new measure is to make loans more easily available to the public, it said.
If approved by the legislature, authorities would be asked to set operations criteria, including a minimum capital amount, for interested parties to follow, it said.
The move was expected to help curb underground operations by loan sharks, who usually ask for more than 30 percent or even 100 percent in interest charges from the needy, market dealers said.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
Industrial production expanded 22.31 percent annually last month to 107.51, as increases in demand for high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) applications drove demand for locally-made chips and components. The manufacturing production index climbed 23.68 percent year-on-year to 108.37, marking the 14th consecutive month of increase, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. In the first four months of this year, industrial and manufacturing production indices expanded 14.31 percent and 15.22 percent year-on-year, ministry data showed. The growth momentum is to extend into this month, with the manufacturing production index expected to rise between 11 percent and 15.1 percent annually, Department of Statistics
An earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether Nvidia Corp takes center stage for Wall Street this week, as stocks hit a speed bump of worries over US federal deficits driving up Treasury yields. US equities pulled back last week after a torrid rally, as investors turned their attention to tax and spending legislation poised to swell the US government’s US$36 trillion in debt. Long-dated US Treasury yields rose amid the fiscal worries, with the 30-year yield topping 5 percent and hitting its highest level since late 2023. Stocks were dealt another blow on Friday when US President Donald
RSS