Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Inc, an investment adviser based in Geneva, Switzerland, has cut Taiwan’s weighting in its two key indices.
MSCI announced in Geneva on Tuesday that after its latest review, Taiwan’s weighting in the MSCI Emerging Markets Free Index was cut from 10.93 percent to 10.83 percent, while in the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index (excluding Japan), Taiwan’s rating was reduced to 18.29 percent from 18.49 percent.
It was the third consecutive quarter in which Taiwan’s weighting has been cut in the two MSCI indices.
Market analysts said it was forecast that about US$121 million of foreign capital would be pulled out of Taiwan as foreign investors adjust their investment portfolios based on the latest reductions.
They said the expected outflow is unlikely to heavily impact the local bourse.
The TAIEX fell 103.54 points, or 1.38 percent, to close at 7,387.52 yesterday after moving between 7,385.13 and 7,541.68 on turnover of NT$86.99 billion (US$2.88 billion), the Taiwan Stock Exchange’s data showed.
“Market confidence was fragile,” Horizon Securities (宏遠證券) analyst Benson Huang (黃重善) said.
“Investors were sensitive to any negative leads, in particular the Italian bond yield hike,” Huang said, adding that while MSCI’s weighting reductions were limited, “in a volatile market, such a negative lead tends to be amplified.”
MSCI also announced that after a six-month review, it has added Hotai Motor Co (和泰汽車), Standard Foods Corp (佳格食品) and Radiant Opto-Electronics Corp (瑞儀光電) to the MSCI Taiwan Index, which is part of the MSCI Global Standard Indices. Their inclusion will go into effect after the market closes on Nov. 30.
Shares of the three companies bucked the decline of the broader market and posted gains on the stock exchange yesterday amid hopes that their inclusion would pave the way for increased foreign institutional buying.
The share price of Hotai Motor, which is the local sales agent of Toyota Motor Corp, rose 6.88 percent to NT$147.5, while the price of Standard Foods, which specializes in food supplements, gained 2.37 percent to NT$108. The share price of Radiant, a LCD backlight module supplier, increased 0.54 percent to NT$93.8.
MSCI also removed 12 companies from the index, which will take effect on Nov. 30.
The 12 firms were: flat-panel maker Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd (中華映管), optical storage media firm CMC Magnetic Corp (中環), LCD backlight module manufacturer Coretronic Corp (中強光電), Evergreen International Storage and Transport Co (長榮國際儲運), Tainan Spinning Co (台南紡織), flat-panel maker Hannstar Display Corp (瀚宇彩晶), touch-panel firm Young Fast Optoelectronics Co (洋華), electronics original design manufacturing service provider Qisda Corp (佳世達) and foundry operator Vanguard International Semiconductor Co (世界先進), as well as memory chip makers Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技), Powerchip Technology Corp (力晶科技) and Winbond Electronics Corp (華邦電子).
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, booked its first-ever profit from its Arizona subsidiary in the first half of this year, four years after operations began, a company financial statement showed. Wholly owned by TSMC, the Arizona unit contributed NT$4.52 billion (US$150.1 million) in net profit, compared with a loss of NT$4.34 billion a year earlier, the statement showed. The company attributed the turnaround to strong market demand and high factory utilization. The Arizona unit counts Apple Inc, Nvidia Corp and Advanced Micro Devices Inc among its major customers. The firm’s first fab in Arizona began high-volume production
VOTE OF CONFIDENCE: The Japanese company is adding Intel to an investment portfolio that includes artificial intelligence linchpins Nvidia Corp and TSMC Softbank Group Corp agreed to buy US$2 billion of Intel Corp stock, a surprise deal to shore up a struggling US name while boosting its own chip ambitions. The Japanese company, which is adding Intel to an investment portfolio that includes artificial intelligence (AI) linchpins Nvidia Corp and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), is to pay US$23 a share — a small discount to Intel’s last close. Shares of the US chipmaker, which would issue new stock to Softbank, surged more than 5 percent in after-hours trading. Softbank’s stock fell as much as 5.4 percent on Tuesday in Tokyo, its
The prices of gasoline and diesel at domestic fuel stations are to rise NT$0.1 and NT$0.4 per liter this week respectively, after international crude oil prices rose last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to rise to NT$27.3, NT$28.8 and NT$30.8 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to rise to NT$26.2 per liter at CPC stations and NT$26 at Formosa pumps, they said. The announcements came after international crude oil prices
COLLABORATION: Softbank would supply manufacturing gear to the factory, and a joint venture would make AI data center equipment, Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) would operate a US factory owned by Softbank Group Corp, setting up what is in the running to be the first manufacturing site in the Japanese company’s US$500 billion Stargate venture with OpenAI and Oracle Corp. Softbank is acquiring Hon Hai’s electric-vehicle plant in Ohio, but the Taiwanese company would continue to run the complex after turning it into an artificial intelligence (AI) server production plant, Hon Hai chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said yesterday. Softbank would supply manufacturing gear to the factory, and a joint venture between the two companies would make AI data
RSS