The TAIEX yesterday closed above the 10,900-point mark at its highest level in almost 28 years after Wall Street hit another record high on Friday last week, dealers said.
Contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) moved higher to offset the losses suffered by select “Apple concept stocks,” while buying also rotated to the old economy and financial sectors to further boost the market, they said.
The TAIEX closed 0.33 percent higher at 10,915.75 after moving between 10,869.12 and 10,918.47 on turnover of NT$136.78 billion (US$4.63 billion).
The TAIEX closed higher for the eighth consecutive session and at its highest level since April 3, 1990, when it ended at 11,119.00.
The market opened up 0.18 percent to push above the nearest technical resistance of 10,822 points, an intraday high set on Nov. 22 last year, after the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.88 percent on Friday last week at another record high of 25,295.87, dealers said.
TSMC continued to support the market upturn and the bellwether electronics sector as other Apple suppliers came under pressure after a disappointing sales report by smartphone camera lens maker Largan Precision Co (大立光) led to worries about iPhone X shipments.
Old economy stocks, including the four major companies under Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團), attracted buying on rising international crude oil prices, while the financial sector moved higher on bargain hunting, they said.
“With foreign institutional investors moving more funds into the region, Taiwan’s equity prices got a boost,” Ta Ching Securities Co (大慶證券) analyst Andy Hsu (許博傑) said. “The gains posted on the US market acted as another catalyst, but I expect the market will see some profit-taking because there was stiff technical resistance after going above 10,900 points.”
TSMC remained one of the market’s major anchors, Hsu said.
TSMC has rallied since last week after local media reported it received rush orders from Chinese customers for high-performance computing device production.
TSMC, the most heavily weighted stock on the local market, rose 0.83 percent to close at the day’s high of NT$242.00, with 20.20 million shares changing hands.
Largan, the most expensive stock on the local market, plunged 4.15 percent to close at NT$3,930.00 on trading volume of 1.18 million after it reported a 13 percent month-on-month decline in sales last month, despite the launch of the iPhone X.
That news spread pessimism to other “Apple concept stocks,” with iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) closing down 1.29 percent at NT$91.80.
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