The TAIEX was flattish yesterday, inching up 0.04 percent to end the day at 8,066.51 points, as the nine-day Lunar New Year holiday helped the local bourse dodge global headwinds that dented stock markets worldwide, but showed signs of easing over the weekend, analysts said.
The main index opened with a fall of more than 100 points, but the decline soon tapered off and the index mildly increased toward the end of trading, Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) data showed.
“The results affirmed unpredictability for the market this year, when disruptions, such as oil and commodity price slumps and the slowdown in China, would continue to weigh [on the market],” state-run Hua Nan Securities Co (華南永昌投顧) chairman David Chu (儲祥生) said by telephone.
Chu attributed the TAIEX’s performance mainly to technical rebounds seen across major Asian stock markets, adding that the National Stabilization Fund’s help was very limited.
Minister of Finance Chang Sheng-ford (張盛和) said all government funds were closely monitoring the market and would step in if necessary.
Financial Supervisory Commission Chairwoman Jennifer Wang (王儷玲) said local shares raised NT$470 billion last year, with dividends reaching NT$1.1 trillion.
That translated into yields of 4.71 percent and 3.88 percent last year for TAIEX and TPEX shares respectively, Wang said.
Turnover was a moderate NT$87.98 billion (US$2.63 billion), up 13.38 percent from the previous session on Feb. 3, as investors returned from the holiday. but remained cautious, data showed.
Foreign institutional players trimmed holdings by a net NT$3.06 billion and mutual funds by an extra NT$808.65 million, TWSE data showed.
Proprietary traders, by contrast, increased their positions by NT$464.56 million.
The adjustments of local share weighting by MSCI, a heavily tracked global equity investment index, appeared to be insignificant thus far, Yuanta Securities Investment Trust Co (元大投信) said.
The global index provider cut Taiwan’s weighting in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index from 12.37 percent to 12.36 percent and the MSCI All-Country Asia ex-Japan Index from 13.96 percent to 13.89 percent, but increased its weighting in the MSCI All-Country World Index to 1.17 percent from 1.16 percent.
The adjustments are due to take effect next month.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, is to receive the biggest downward revision with 0.02 percent, while Delta Electronics Inc (台達電), the nation’s top manufacturer of power supplies, is to have its weighting increase by the same ratio, MSCI said in a press statement.
TSMC shares fell 0.68 percent to close at NT$145 yesterday, while Delta Electronics gained 1.51 percent to NT$134.50, according to TWSE data.
The TAIEX might hover around current levels this week due to the absence of catalysts or a black swan effect, Chu said.
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