TAIEX gains on Wal-Mart news
Stocks gained 215.72, or 2.5 percent, to close at 8,942.93 yesterday as exporters such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (鴻海精密) rose after earnings at Wal-Mart Stores Inc boosted confidence in the outlook for the US economy.
Stocks also advanced after Goldman Sachs Group Inc chief executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein said his company doesn't plan any significant writedowns on mortgage-related assets, boosting optimism the US subprime crisis may be contained.
Only 48 of the 648 stocks traded on the TAIEX did not advance yesterday.
Hon Hai, the nation's largest electronics company, climbed NT$7, or 3.5 percent, to NT$210 (US$6.51). Hon Hai assembles iPods for Apple Inc. Mediatek Inc (聯發科), the world's largest supplier of chips for DVD players, added NT$26, or 5.2 percent, to NT$527.
Yahoo settles lawsuit
Yahoo Inc, reeling from a growing backlash over human rights and its China operations, settled a lawsuit that accused it of illegally helping the Chinese government jail and torture two journalists.
Neither side disclosed details on Tuesday other than to agree Yahoo would pay the attorneys fees of Shi Tao (師濤) and Wang Xiaoning (王小寧) and the family member who sued on their behalf. Yahoo also said it would "provide financial, humanitarian and legal support to these families."
The settlement has reopened debate over Internet companies cooperating with governments that deny freedom of speech and crack down on journalists.
HK stocks rise 3.68 percent
Hong Kong stocks rose sharply yesterday morning on lower oil prices and easing fears about the credit crisis in the US. An overnight rally on Wall Street also boosted investor confidence.
The blue-chip Hang Seng Index closed the morning session up 1,023.63 points, or 3.68 percent, at 28,826.98.
Trade has been volatile over the past few weeks as investors react to news about a plan to allow mainland Chinese to invest directly in Hong Kong, new listings of mainland companies and concerns over the US economy.
China Mobile (中國移動通訊) led yesterday's gains on news it was in talks with Apple Inc about bringing the iPhone to China. It closed the morning session up 6.59 percent at HK$137.4.
Trading volume would be the key to whether the market is back to its bull run, said local analysts.
Premier calls for monitoring
Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) yesterday instructed Vice Premier Chiou I-jen (邱義仁) to monitor fluctuations in the stock market and their impact on the country's economy, The recent subprime mortgage financial crisis in the US, continuous depreciation of the US dollar, soaring oil prices in the international market and the strengthening of China's economic controls were among the factors that are influencing global stock markets, Chang said.
The Taipei Weighted Stock Index slid 10.1 percent in a month, lower than a 13.6 percent decline in the Chinese Stock market and a 12.9 percent decline in the Hang Seng Index, while higher than a fall of 9.6 percent, 9.2 percent, and 6.4 percent respectively in Nikkei, Strait Times Index-Singapore, and South Korea-Stock Index, Chang said.
The premier called on the public to keep their confidence in Taipei stock, citing that the country's current economic fundamentals are fairly good.
NT dollar gains
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday gained slightly by NT$0.011 to close at NT$32.288 against the greenback on turnover of US$1.062 billion.
COMPETITION: AMD, Intel and Qualcomm are unveiling new laptop and desktop parts in Las Vegas, arguing their technologies provide the best performance for AI workloads Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD), the second-biggest maker of computer processors, said its chips are to be used by Dell Technologies Inc for the first time in PCs sold to businesses. The chipmaker unveiled new processors it says would make AMD-based PCs the best at running artificial intelligence (AI) software. Dell has decided to use the chips in some of its computers aimed at business customers, AMD executives said at CES in Las Vegas on Monday. Dell’s embrace of AMD for corporate PCs — it already uses the chipmaker for consumer devices — is another blow for Intel Corp as the company
ADVANCED: Previously, Taiwanese chip companies were restricted from building overseas fabs with technology less than two generations behind domestic factories Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), a major chip supplier to Nvidia Corp, would no longer be restricted from investing in next-generation 2-nanometer chip production in the US, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. However, the ministry added that the world’s biggest contract chipmaker would not be making any reckless decisions, given the weight of its up to US$30 billion investment. To safeguard Taiwan’s chip technology advantages, the government has barred local chipmakers from making chips using more advanced technologies at their overseas factories, in China particularly. Chipmakers were previously only allowed to produce chips using less advanced technologies, specifically
MediaTek Inc (聯發科) yesterday said it is teaming up with Nvidia Corp to develop a new chip for artificial intelligence (AI) supercomputers that uses architecture licensed from Arm Holdings PLC. The new product is targeting AI researchers, data scientists and students rather than the mass PC market, the company said. The announcement comes as MediaTek makes efforts to add AI capabilities to its Dimensity chips for smartphones and tablets, Genio family for the Internet of Things devices, Pentonic series of smart TVs, Kompanio line of Arm-based Chromebooks, along with the Dimensity auto platform for vehicles. MeidaTek, the world’s largest chip designer for smartphones
BRAVE NEW WORLD: Nvidia believes that AI would fuel a new industrial revolution and would ‘do whatever we can’ to guide US AI policy, CEO Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp cofounder and chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Tuesday said he is ready to meet US president-elect Donald Trump and offer his help to the incoming administration. “I’d be delighted to go see him and congratulate him, and do whatever we can to make this administration succeed,” Huang said in an interview with Bloomberg Television, adding that he has not been invited to visit Trump’s home base at Mar-a-Lago in Florida yet. As head of the world’s most valuable chipmaker, Huang has an opportunity to help steer the administration’s artificial intelligence (AI) policy at a moment of rapid change.
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