Taiwanese shares yesterday moved higher amid reduced concerns over US-China trade disputes, but the upturn was limited as some investors shifted to the sell side to take profits, dealers said.
Driven by solid buying in contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the bellwether electronics sector helped prop up the wider market, although some smaller tech stocks fell, dealers said.
Investors remained cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s two-day policymaking meeting that opened yesterday in Washington, they said.
The TAIEX ended up 18.85 points, or 0.17 percent, at 11,333.87, after moving between 11,292.83 and 11,373,95.
Turnover totaled NT$145.338 billion (US$4.76 billion) during the session.
Investors were also chasing TSMC shares amid optimism about the company’s fundamentals and its lead in the global chipmaker market, dealers said.
TSMC, which holds more than a 50 percent share of the global pure wafer foundry market, saw shares rise 1.36 percent to close at the day’s high of NT$298.5.
The stock contributed about 0.33 percent to the rise of the electronics sector and about 40 points to the TAIEX’s gains.
However, smaller tech stocks in the printed circuit board business dropped.
Compeq Manufacturing Co (華通) ended 2.51 percent lower at NT$40.75, and Unimicron Corp (欣興) fell 1.26 percent to close at NT$46.9.
Among the non-tech stocks, Formosa Chemical & Fibre Corp (台灣化纖) dropped 0.22 percent to close at NT$88.7, Eclat Textile Co (儒鴻) lost 0.85 percent to end at NT$409 and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) closed unchanged at NT$96.90.
In the financial sector, which ended up 0.15 percent, Mega Financial Holding Co (兆豐金控) rose 0.34 percent to close at NT$29.7, while Shanghai Savings & Commercial Bank (上海商業儲蓄銀行) ended down 0.19 percent at NT$51.8.
Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed that foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$6.41 billion worth of shares on the main board, after a net buy of NT$6.94 billion on Monday.
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