Eurozone debt caps TAIEX gains
Gains on the nation’s main bourse were capped yesterday ahead of the nearest technical resistance around 7,100 points as lingering concerns over the debt crisis in the eurozone continued weighing on market sentiment, dealers said.
Select large-cap stocks, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), smartphone vendor HTC Corp (宏達電) and Mega Financial Holdings Co (兆豐金控), attracted interest for bargains to fend off profit-taking pressure after the weighted index moved higher, they said.
The TAIEX closed up 16.75 points, or 0.24 percent, at 7,088.83, on turnover of NT$50.90 billion (US$1.70 billion).
Among the winning market heavyweights, TSMC rose 0.76 percent to close at NT$80.00, HTC gained 1.45 percent to end at NT$350.00, while Mega Financial Holdings closed up 2.12 percent at NT$21.65.
Solar energy shares move up
Local solar energy shares moved sharply higher yesterday morning after shares of US-based First Solar Inc soared 21 percent on Wall Street overnight on unexpected demand in Europe, dealers said.
However, investors were advised that they trade these renewable energy stocks with caution, as there are few signs that oversupply in the global solar energy sector would be reversed any time soon, dealers said.
At the end of Taipei trading, shares of Gintech Energy Corp (昱晶) added 7 percent, the maximum daily increase, to NT$38.50, shares of Neo Solar Power Corp (新日光) gained 4.29 percent to NT$21.9 and shares of Solartech Energy Corp (昇陽) rose 2.98 percent to NT$32.8.
ASE spoksperson steps down
Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc (ASE, 日月光半導體), the world’s largest chip packaging and testing company, said in an exchange filing that Allen Kan (甘智文) relinquished his role as deputy spokesman because of an investigation by local prosecutors.
Kan, who is also a finance director, has not left the company, while it was not immediately clear if he would keep the finance role, Grace Teng (鄧述恩), an investor relations representative, said by telephone yesterday. Chief financial officer Joseph Tung (董宏思), who is also deputy spokesman, will continue in both roles, while president Richard Chang (張洪本) will remain spokesman for the company, Teng said.
Prosecutors are investigating some ASE employees for possible insider trading related to its 2009 acquisition of Universal Scientific Industrial Co (環隆電氣), the company said in a filing on Saturday. Kan was not immediately available for comment, Teng said.
Water to naptha cracker intact
The Water Resources Agency yesterday denied media reports that said Formosa Plastics Group’s (台塑集團) sixth naphtha cracker in Yunlin County would face a water shortage after a dam was damaged by torrential rains this week.
Agency spokeswoman Tyan Chau-ling (田巧玲) said part of the dike surrounding a dam in Nantou County’s Jiji Township (集集) that supplies water to the naphtha cracker was washed away by the heavy rain a day earlier.
However, she assured that there would be no problem in the facility’s water supply because the agency has activated the backup supply system. Formosa Plastics also denied media reports that the damage at the dam would shut off water supply and impact the group’s operations, saying the backup system is functioning normally and water supply is sufficient.
NT dollar closes up
The New Taiwan dollar rose against the US dollar yesterday, edging up NT$0.011 to close at NT$29.980.
Turnover totaled US$863 million during the trading session.
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
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Taiwan is open to joining a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) program if one is created, but on the condition that countries provide delivery even in a scenario where there is a conflict with China, an energy department official said yesterday. While Taiwan’s priority is to have enough LNG at home, the nation is open to exploring potential strategic reserves in other countries such as Japan or South Korea, Energy Administration Deputy Director-General Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲) said. While the LNG market does not have a global reserve for emergencies like that of oil, the concept has been raised a few times —
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