The TAIEX yesterday climbed out of a slump to close higher, led by shares of contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which recovered from a tumble in the previous session, dealers said.
TSMC helped boost the bellwether electronics sector, and the gains also spread to the old economy and financial sectors, lending additional support to the main board, but turnover remained low amid fears of further volatility on US markets, dealers said.
The TAIEX closed up 0.78 percent at 16,144.85 on turnover of NT$197.899 billion (US$6.67 billion).
The TAIEX opened up 0.26 percent, ignoring the losses on US markets overnight, and it gained momentum as TSMC shares attracted bargain hunters after plunging 2.97 percent on Thursday, dealers said.
BARGAIN HUNTING
The bargain hunting also spread to non-technology stocks, including the steel and financial sectors, helping the TAIEX close above 16,100 points after its 1.70 percent tumble the previous day, they said.
“While US markets continued to trend lower, the selling was more on the Dow than the tech-heavy NASDAQ index,” Mega International Investment Services Corp (兆豐國際投顧) analyst Alex Huang (黃國偉) said. “Investors here simply took advantage of the heavy losses suffered by electronics stocks yesterday to pick up bargains today.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.75 percent on Thursday, while the NASDAQ finished 0.26 percent lower.
“In Taiwan, TSMC became the major target among bargain hunters, as its share price was relatively low, while its fundamentals remained sound,” Huang said.
TSMC shares rose 1.53 percent yesterday to close at NT$530, contributing almost 70 points to the TAIEX’s gain, and leading the electronics and semiconductor subindices to rise 0.72 percent and 1.09 percent respectively.
Other semiconductor heavyweights finished mixed, with chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (聯電) shares losing 0.20 percent to close at NT$50.70, while shares of application-specific IC designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原科技) dropped 1.25 percent to close at NT$950.
In the wider electronics sector, shares of iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) fell 0.47 percent to close at NT$107, while those of PC brand Acer Inc (宏碁) shed 1.42 percent to close at NT$27.75 after Acer chairman Jason Chen (陳俊聖) said that he was afraid PC demand would be affected by COVID-19 lockdowns in China and inflation worldwide.
Formosa Plastics Corp (台灣塑膠) shares gained 1.46 percent to close at NT$104.50.
Shares of Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運), the nation’s largest container cargo shipper, lost 0.74 percent to close at NT$135, while those of its rival Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp (陽明海運) finished 2.17 percent higher at NT$117.50.
In the financial sector, which rose 0.86 percent, Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控) shares closed up 0.32 percent at NT$61.80, while Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) shares closed 0.38 percent higher at NT$52.90.
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