Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) stock yesterday rose to its highest-ever level, tracking a global rally in chip stocks fueled by optimism about artificial intelligence (AI) and helping the TAIEX add nearly 2 percent.
The world’s top chip foundry increased 5.22 percent to close at NT$725 in Taipei trading, a record since its stock listing in 1994. The surge lifted its market capitalization to US$597 billion, one step closer to reclaiming a spot in the world’s 10 most valuable companies.
TSMC has soared more than 22 percent so far this year, helping the local benchmark TAIEX also reach a record high, ending up 1.95 percent at 19,305.31 yesterday, Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) data showed.
Photo: CNA
Turnover on the main board totaled NT$485.383 billion (US$15.39 billion), the second-largest since Feb. 15, when turnover was NT$492.695 billion, while three major institutional investors were net buyers of Taiwanese equities, purchasing a net NT$44.48 billion in local stocks yesterday, TWSE data showed.
The gains in Taipei followed a strong Wall Street performance on Friday, with the S&P 500 and the tech-rich NASDAQ ending at all-time highs off continued momentum for AI-linked equities, especially Nvidia Corp, which finished with a valuation above US$2 trillion for the first time.
TSMC, the main supplier to Nvidia and Apple Inc, is considered a key beneficiary of the ongoing AI boom, with its executives expecting a return to solid growth this quarter amid signs of a demand recovery. Nvidia’s upbeat results last month further cemented investor optimism about the sector.
Separately, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index yesterday surpassed 40,000 points for the first time, with analysts predicting it could advance even further, lifted by Wall Street rallies, robust corporate earnings and optimism over AI.
Shares in Japan have also been boosted by continued easy credit policies, with the Bank of Japan pumping money into the economy to help support growth.
The Nikkei 225 index rose as high as 40,314.64, but fell back slightly. It gained 0.5 percent to close at 40,109.23, having risen for five weeks straight.
Tech darling Tokyo Electron Ltd rose 2.4 percent yesterday and has surged over 50 percent since the start of the year.
Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong finished flat yesterday and Shanghai closed higher ahead of the start of China’s annual legislative conclave.
At the rubber-stamp parliamentary meeting, leaders are expected to set an annual growth goal of about 5 percent for this year, SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes said.
Seoul, Mumbai, Manila and Kuala Lumpur were also up, while Sydney, Wellington, Jakarta and Singapore were down.
The solid performance of global markets provides “favorable trade winds for Asian markets as the new week begins,” Innes said.
Hope for US interest rate cuts, indications of cooling inflation and a soaring passion for AI within the tech sector have driven investor sentiment, he said.
“These factors collectively contribute to the positive tone in global markets, which is expected to bolster Asian markets,” Innes added.
Mercuries Life Insurance Co (三商美邦人壽) shares surged to a seven-month high this week after local media reported that E.Sun Financial Holding Co (玉山金控) had outbid CTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金控) in the financially strained insurer’s ongoing sale process. Shares of the mid-sized life insurer climbed 5.8 percent this week to NT$6.72, extending a nearly 18 percent rally over the past month, as investors bet on the likelihood of an impending takeover. The final round of bidding closed on Thursday, marking a critical step in the 32-year-old insurer’s search for a buyer after years of struggling to meet capital adequacy requirements. Local media reports
AI BOOST: Although Taiwan’s reliance on Chinese rare earth elements is limited, it could face indirect impacts from supply issues and price volatility, an economist said DBS Bank Ltd (星展銀行) has sharply raised its forecast for Taiwan’s economic growth this year to 5.6 percent, citing stronger-than-expected exports and investment linked to artificial intelligence (AI), as it said that the current momentum could peak soon. The acceleration of the global AI race has fueled a surge in Taiwan’s AI-related capital spending and exports of information and communications technology (ICT) products, which have been key drivers of growth this year. “We have revised our GDP forecast for Taiwan upward to 5.6 percent from 4 percent, an upgrade that mainly reflects stronger-than-expected AI-related exports and investment in the third
TECHNOLOGICAL RIVALRY: The artificial intelligence chip competition among multiple players would likely intensify over the next two years, a Quanta official said Quanta Computer Inc (廣達), which makes servers and laptops on a contract basis, yesterday said its shipments of artificial intelligence (AI) servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s GB300 chips have increased steadily since last month, should surpass those of the GB200 models this quarter. The production of GB300 servers has gone much more smoothly than that of the GB200, with shipments projected to increase sharply next month, Quanta executive vice president Mike Yang (楊麒令) said on the sidelines of a technology forum in Taipei. While orders for GB200 servers gradually decrease, the production transition between the two server models has been
ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控), the world’s largest integrated circuit (IC) packaging and testing supplier, yesterday announced a strategic collaboration with Analog Devices Inc (ADI), coupled with the signing of a binding memorandum of understanding. Under the agreement, ASE intends to purchase 100 percent shares of Analog Devices Sdn Bhd and acquire its manufacturing facility in Penang, Malaysia, a press release showed. The ADI Penang facility is located in the prime industrial hub of Bayan Lepas, with an area of over 680,000 square feet, it said. In addition, the two sides intend to enter into a long-term supply agreement for ASE to
RSS