After fears of an escalating trade war between China and the US caused volatility in global markets last week, the local stock market is counting on listed companies’ first-quarter sales reports and business updates to provide some resilience against external uncertainties, analysts said.
In light of a more than 2 percent decline in the three main Wall Street indices last week, the TAIEX might test the half-year moving average of 10,774 points today, when the market resumes trading after a three-day closure for the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday last week, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) quoted Boryi Chien (簡伯儀), a senior manager at Cathay Securities Co (國泰證券), as saying yesterday.
The TAIEX last week ended 0.9 percent lower than the previous week at 10,821.53 points, with an average daily turnover of about NT$109.77 billion, lower than NT$113.23 billion in the preceding week, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
Several heavyweight local companies — including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc (日月光半導體), Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and the four major units of Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團) — are to release their quarterly sales results this week.
Twenty-four listed companies are to open the earnings season, with handset camera lens supplier Largan Precision Co (大立光), contact lens maker Ginko International Co (金可國際), solar wafer supplier Sino-American Silicon Products Inc (SAS, 中美晶), semiconductor wafer maker GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓) and others to release their latest financial results and shed light on their business outlook.
The Ministry of Finance is today to release the foreign trade data for last month, which are likely to show a substantial rebound in exports from February, when outbound shipments were affected by the Lunar New Year holiday, as well as a widening of the trade surplus, market watchers said.
However, developments in the US-China trade row, geopolitical risks and the outlook for US technology stocks would be key determinants of the local stock market in the second quarter, Prudential Financial Securities Investment Trust Enterprise Co (保德信投信) said, according to a report by the Central News Agency on Saturday.
Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) also advised investors to place more weight on risk than reward in the belief that reducing holdings is sensible for investors in an environment of rising uncertainty, especially rising trade protectionism.
“For investors that need to maintain their holdings, a more balanced approach — i.e., increasing dividend plays — could at the very least reduce risks,” Yuanta Securities regional head of research Vincent Chen (陳豊丰) said in a recent note.
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INSULATED: The company said it is less exposed to global complications, as it has built a strong footprint worldwide, and has multiple sources of rare earths and raw minerals Merck Group yesterday said it would ramp up production next year at its new flagship facility in Kaohsiung’s Lujhu District (路竹) to satisfy growing demand for advanced semiconductor materials and specialty gases, and to address supply resilience issues amid mounting geopolitical risks. Merck made the remarks during a news conference before the inauguration of its 500 million euros (US$582.1 million) facility, which is also to supply other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, it said. Merck executive board deputy chair and electronics CEO Kai Beckmann told reporters the company adopted a “local-for-local” strategy about seven years ago to address the cycle time of
Two companies wholly owned by the daughter of the founder of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Monday reported to the Taiwan Stock Exchange that they would dispose of all of the Hon Hai shares they hold. In filings with the exchange, Hong Wei Investment Co (鋐維) said it would sell the 2.771 million Hon Hai shares it holds and Frontier Investment Corp (承鋒投資) said it would sell its 2.409 million Hon Hai shares from tomorrow until Jan. 3 next year. The two companies are wholly owned and chaired by Shirley Gou (郭曉玲), the eldest daughter of Hon Hai founder Terry
RIDING THE WAVE: The race to build AI infrastructure has lifted the valuations of top memory makers, such as Micron, amid dwindling inventories and supply challenges Micron Technology Inc is to spend ￥1.5 trillion (US$9.6 billion) to build a plant in western Japan to make memory chips for artificial intelligence (AI) applications, the Nikkei reported on Saturday. The move comes as Micron seeks to diversify advanced chip production outside of Taiwan, the Nikkei article said, citing people familiar with the matter. The new factory will manufacture high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, a key component for working with AI processors such as those made by Nvidia Corp, the report said. Micron would build the facility within the compound of its Hiroshima plant, starting in May next year, with plans to launch
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