The TAIEX this week lost more than NT$1 trillion (US$32.97 billion) in market capitalization over COVID-19 fears and the downtrend might extend into next week, analysts have said.
The TAIEX, which was closed yesterday for the national holiday, fell 3.37 percent, or 394.18 points, in just four trading sessions to close at 11,292.17 after the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 2,000 points between Monday and Wednesday.
Due to the fall, its market capitalization fell about NT$1.19 trillion from last Friday to NT$34.30 trillion, data compiled by the Taiwan Stock Exchange showed.
The Dow on Thursday fell another 1,200 points, the steepest single-session fall in the index’s history, amid escalating concerns over the spread of the virus, and analysts said that the TAIEX could fall further when trading resumes on Monday.
Allianz Global Investors Taiwan Technology Fund (安聯台灣科技基金) manager Peter Liao (廖哲宏) said that it was unlikely that the Dow would stabilize anytime soon amid the COVID-19 scare, meaning that the TAIEX would likely see more volatility next week.
The Dow losses could propel investors in Taiwan to dump more of their holdings, Liao said, adding that how foreign institutional investors react would be a critical factor in predicting what other investors decide to do.
Heavy selling in Taiwan this week largely came from foreign institutional investors, who sold a net NT$94.44 billion in shares, punishing large-cap stocks across the board over fears that the outbreak could hurt production as well as consumption, analysts said.
Among the falling large-cap tech stocks, contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) lost 2.77 percent this week to close at NT$316.00 on Thursday and iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) fell 1.71 percent to close at NT$80.30.
Largan Precision Co (大立光), an Apple camera lens supplier, fell 3.9 percent to close at NT$4,610.00.
Among old economy stocks, which also suffered heavy losses, Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) shed 3.26 percent this week to close at NT$86.10, and Formosa Plastics Corp (台灣塑膠) fell 3.81 percent to end at NT$91.00.
Analysts said that the TAIEX is likely to test the technical support at the 240-day moving average of 11,054 points soon, and said that investors should set aside cash for when buying opportunities emerge.
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
‘IMMENSE SWAY’: The top 50 companies, based on market cap, shape everything from technology to consumer trends, advisory firm Visual Capitalist said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) was ranked the 10th-most valuable company globally this year, market information advisory firm Visual Capitalist said. TSMC sat on a market cap of about US$915 billion as of Monday last week, making it the 10th-most valuable company in the world and No. 1 in Asia, the publisher said in its “50 Most Valuable Companies in the World” list. Visual Capitalist described TSMC as the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry operator that rolls out chips for major tech names such as US consumer electronics brand Apple Inc, and artificial intelligence (AI) chip designers Nvidia Corp and Advanced
Saudi Arabian Oil Co (Aramco), the Saudi state-owned oil giant, yesterday posted first-quarter profits of US$26 billion, down 4.6 percent from the prior year as falling global oil prices undermine the kingdom’s multitrillion-dollar development plans. Aramco had revenues of US$108.1 billion over the quarter, the company reported in a filing on Riyadh’s Tadawul stock exchange. The company saw US$107.2 billion in revenues and profits of US$27.2 billion for the same period last year. Saudi Arabia has promised to invest US$600 billion in the US over the course of US President Donald Trump’s second term. Trump, who is set to touch
SKEPTICAL: An economist said it is possible US and Chinese officials would walk away from the meeting saying talks were productive, without reducing tariffs at all US President Donald Trump hailed a “total reset” in US-China trade relations, ahead of a second day of talks yesterday between top officials from Washington and Beijing aimed at de-escalating trade tensions sparked by his aggressive tariff rollout. In a Truth Social post early yesterday, Trump praised the “very good” discussions and deemed them “a total reset negotiated in a friendly, but constructive, manner.” The second day of closed-door meetings between US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) were due to restart yesterday morning, said a person familiar
RSS