Corporate earnings results and companies’ business outlooks would continue to affect the local equity market this week, equity strategists said, adding that global central banks’ interest rate moves and the release of Apple Inc’s quarterly results would be key factors to watch.
Despite concerns over global trade developments, market movements this week might follow the activities of foreign institutional investors, who last week bought a net NT$15.45 billion (US$505.03 million) of shares on the main board, compared with NT$14.49 billion the previous week, strategists said.
Foreign investors have so far this month bought a net NT$7.65 billion in local shares, after net selling for five straight months since February, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
The TAIEX on Friday closed up 0.59 percent at 11,075.78 points for a weekly increase of 1.3 percent as several large-cap electronics stocks, especially Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and Largan Precision Co (大立光), as well as shares of passive component, silicon wafer and optoelectronics suppliers, pushed the index above 11,000 points.
“Some major semiconductor companies’ financial results for last quarter received positive responses from the market, which helped drive the local bourse last week,” Franklin Templeton SinoAm High-tech Fund manager Kuo Hsiu-shen (郭修伸) said in an investment note released on Friday.
“Meanwhile, shares of printed circuit board equipment suppliers and memorychip makers also showed marked advancement in the week on their better-than-expected profits and margin performances,” he said.
Apple is scheduled to release its quarterly earnings tomorrow and the market has been generally positive about the iPhone maker’s results, Kuo said.
Apple’s earnings call the same day might provide guidance for the coming quarter, as well as hints on its new iPhone launch this year, he said, adding that any good news would serve as a catalyst for shares of the US company’s local suppliers.
Investors might also take their cue from the second-quarter bottom line and the near-term business outlook released by dozens of local companies, Allianz Global Investors Taiwan Technology Fund manager Peter Liao (廖哲宏) said.
MediaTek Inc (聯發科), Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), Delta Electronics Inc (台達電), Merry Electronics Co (美律), Walsin Lihwa Corp (華新麗華) and ScinoPharm Taiwan Ltd (台灣神隆) are among the companies that are to report their business performance this week.
“The third quarter is peak season for the electronics industry,” Liao said in a note on Friday, adding that the iPhone supply chain is entering its peak season and the cloud-based server sector continues to grow steadily.
While makers of 8-inch wafers, metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors, passive components and automotive-grade diodes still have plans to raise prices this quarter, price hikes have already been factored into their stock prices, he said.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
BIG BUCKS: Chairman Wei is expected to receive NT$34.12 million on a proposed NT$5 cash dividend plan, while the National Development Fund would get NT$8.27 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday announced that its board of directors approved US$15.25 billion in capital appropriations for long-term expansion to meet growing demand. The funds are to be used for installing advanced technology and packaging capacity, expanding mature and specialty technology, and constructing fabs with facility systems, TSMC said in a statement. The board also approved a proposal to distribute a NT$5 cash dividend per share, based on first-quarter earnings per share of NT$13.94, it said. That surpasses the NT$4.50 dividend for the fourth quarter of last year. TSMC has said that while it is eager
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
RSS