European stocks climbed in the last week of 2011 as US data showed the recovery in the world’s largest economy is gathering pace and optimism grew that eurozone policy makers will contain the debt crisis.
The benchmark STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 1.1 percent to 244.54, the highest since Oct. 28. The second straight week of gains helped trim last year’s losses to 11 percent. The gauge has rallied 14 percent from a 2011 low on Sept. 22 as eurozone leaders planned to channel central-bank loans through the IMF to debt-ridden nations and the European Central Bank (ECB) took steps to ease a cash squeeze.
“There is a risk of losing sight that gradually progress has been made,” said William De Vijlder, global chief investment officer at Paris-based BNP Paribas Investment Partners. “The ECB has eased its policy. The firepower of the IMF is being increased.”
Post-Christmas trading was slow, with daily volume in the STOXX 600 this week dipping to 32 percent of this year’s average.
The STOXX 600 gained 5.6 percent from the start of the year to its peak on Feb. 17. From there, it tumbled 26 percent to its low on Sept. 22, entering a bear market. The gauge had its worst third quarter since 2002, dropping 17 percent, as US leaders wrangled over deficit cuts and European policymakers remained divided on their response to the debt crisis.
Banks had the biggest drop among 19 industry groups last year, sinking 32 percent, amid growing concern the fiscal crisis would force at least one nation to default on its debt.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The German laser and plasma generator company will expand its local services as its specialized offerings support Taiwan’s semiconductor industries Trumpf SE + Co KG, a global leader in supplying laser technology and plasma generators used in chip production, is expanding its investments in Taiwan in an effort to deeply integrate into the global semiconductor supply chain in the pursuit of growth. The company, headquartered in Ditzingen, Germany, has invested significantly in a newly inaugurated regional technical center for plasma generators in Taoyuan, its latest expansion in Taiwan after being engaged in various industries for more than 25 years. The center, the first of its kind Trumpf built outside Germany, aims to serve customers from Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and South Korea,
Gasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.2 per liter this week, down for a second consecutive 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 drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. The price adjustments came even as international crude oil prices rose last week, as traders
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which supplies advanced chips to Nvidia Corp and Apple Inc, yesterday reported NT$1.046 trillion (US$33.1 billion) in revenue for last quarter, driven by constantly strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips, falling in the upper end of its forecast. Based on TSMC’s financial guidance, revenue would expand about 22 percent sequentially to the range from US$32.2 billion to US$33.4 billion during the final quarter of 2024, it told investors in October last year. Last year in total, revenue jumped 31.61 percent to NT$3.81 trillion, compared with NT$2.89 trillion generated in the year before, according to
SIZE MATTERS: TSMC started phasing out 8-inch wafer production last year, while Samsung is more aggressively retiring 8-inch capacity, TrendForce said Chipmakers are expected to raise prices of 8-inch wafers by up to 20 percent this year on concern over supply constraints as major contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co gradually retire less advanced wafer capacity, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. It is the first significant across-the-board price hike since a global semiconductor correction in 2023, the Taipei-based market researcher said in a report. Global 8-inch wafer capacity slid 0.3 percent year-on-year last year, although 8-inch wafer prices still hovered at relatively stable levels throughout the year, TrendForce said. The downward trend is expected to continue this year,
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