The Taipei Foreign Exchange Inc chalked up record turnover of US$3.24 billion yesterday, thanks largely to foreign investors' stock purchases.
Including the smaller Yuantai Foreign Exchange Inc's US$692 million turnover, the total volume of transactions was US$3.932 billion.
The NT dollar surged to an intraday high of NT$32.175 around noon, but gave up some gains to close at NT$32.260 against the greenback, up NT$0.110 from the previous close.
The last time turnover approached yesterday's level was when transactions totaled US$3.169 billion on Oct. 1, 1987. At that time, traders snatched up the NT dollar after the lifting of a 40:1 peg to the US dollar.
"The volume was a bit larger than average, but the market was calm and orderly," said Duann Jin-sheng (段金生), director of the central bank's foreign exchange bureau.
Duann declined to comment on whether the central bank had intervened to put a brake on the NT dollar's surge.
In addition to inward remittances registered by the custodian banks of foreign investment banks, the selling pressure on the US dollar was largely the result of a bearish outlook amid a likely slowdown in the US economy as a result of the subprime mortgage crisis, dealers said.
The US dollar lurked near a seven-week low against the euro and the yen on the London market amid expectations that the US Federal Reserve would cut interest rates later this month to boost the economy.
US dollar buy orders placed by government-owned banks which might have acted on behalf of the central bank kept the NT dollar in check, said dealers, who also spotted outward remittances for oil purchases.
The TAIEX surged 225.43 points, or 3.13 percent, to 8,428.84, with turnover totaling NT$210.227 billion, up from NT$109.330 billion the previous day, the Taiwan Stock Exchange's tallies showed.
The benchmark index has risen 4.98 percent in the last two days following the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) victory in Saturday's legislative elections.
All eight major sectors advanced yesterday, though financial shares were the biggest gainers with an average rise of 6.68 percent. Technology shares, led by panel-making stocks, rebounded following Wall Street's overnight recovery, SinoPac Securities Corp (永豐金證券) analyst George Hung said in a client note yesterday.
Foreign investors yesterday bought a net NT$22.08 billion in Taiwanese stocks, following a net purchase of NT$22.92 billion on Monday.
Domestic institutional investors, including both investment trust firms and proprietary traders, collectively bought a net NT$5.42 billion in Taiwanese stocks yesterday. They placed a net purchase of NT$1.35 billion on Monday.
SUPPORT: The government said it would help firms deal with supply disruptions, after Trump signed orders imposing tariffs of 25 percent on imports from Canada and Mexico The government pledged to help companies with operations in Mexico, such as iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), shift production lines and investment if needed to deal with higher US tariffs. The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday announced measures to help local firms cope with the US tariff increases on Canada, Mexico, China and other potential areas. The ministry said that it would establish an investment and trade service center in the US to help Taiwanese firms assess the investment environment in different US states, plan supply chain relocation strategies and
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) is reportedly making another pass at Nissan Motor Co, as the Japanese automaker's tie-up with Honda Motor Co falls apart. Nissan shares rose as much as 6 percent after Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported that Hon Hai chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) instructed former Nissan executive Jun Seki to connect with French carmaker Renault SA, which holds about 36 percent of Nissan’s stock. Hon Hai, the Taiwanese iPhone-maker also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), was exploring an investment or buyout of Nissan last year, but backed off in December after the Japanese carmaker penned a deal
WASHINGTON POLICY: Tariffs of 10 percent or more and other new costs are tipped to hit shipments of small parcels, cutting export growth by 1.3 percentage points The decision by US President Donald Trump to ban Chinese companies from using a US tariff loophole would hit tens of billions of dollars of trade and reduce China’s economic growth this year, according to new estimates by economists at Nomura Holdings Inc. According to Nomura’s estimates, last year companies such as Shein (希音) and PDD Holdings Inc’s (拼多多控股) Temu shipped US$46 billion of small parcels to the US to take advantage of the rule that allows items with a declared value under US$800 to enter the US tariff-free. Tariffs of 10 percent or more and other new costs would slash such
SENSOR BUSINESS: The Taiwanese company said that a public tender offer would begin on May 7 through its wholly owned subsidiary Yageo Electronics Japan Yageo Corp (國巨), one of the world’s top three suppliers of passive components, yesterday said it is to launch a tender offer to fully acquire Japan’s Shibaura Electronics Co for up to ¥65.57 billion (US$429.37 million), with an aim to expand its sensor business. The tender offer would be a crucial step for the company to expand its sensor business, Yageo said. Shibaura Electronics is the world’s largest supplier of thermistors, with a market share of 13 percent, research conducted in 2022 by the Japanese firm showed. If a deal goes ahead, it would be the second acquisition of a sensor business since