Trading in global shares was mixed yesterday, with losses of more than 2 percent in Chinese benchmarks, as Asia’s main stock market in Tokyo stayed closed for the New Year holiday.
In European trade, France’s CAC 40 closed up 0.2 percent at 7,393.76, Germany’s DAX gained 0.6 percent at 20,024.66, and Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 1.1 percent at 8,260.09.
Investors remain cautious over what US president-elect Donald Trump might do once he takes office, including raising tariffs on imports from China and other Asian countries.
Photo: CNA
The Shanghai Composite index dropped 2.7 percent to close at 3,262.56 and the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell 2.2 percent to 19,623.32.
A survey of factory managers, the Caixin China Purchasing Managers Index, showed activity expanding at a slower pace last month as the index fell to 50.5 from 51.5 the previous month, on a scale where readings above 50 show expansion. New orders, employment and business sentiment weakened.
Upbeat talk by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in a New Year’s address did little to raise optimism among market players who are hoping for more aggressive action to support the economy and boost share prices.
Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region, the TAIEX in Taipei fell 0.88 percent to 22,832.06, its worst start to a year in nine years. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5 percent to 8,201.20 and South Korea’s KOSPI was flat at 2,398.94.
On Wednesday, markets were closed on Wall Street for the New Year’s Day holiday, as were nearly all other world markets.
US stock indices closed mostly lower on Tuesday as the market delivered a downbeat finish on the final day of another milestone-shattering year on Wall Street.
The US markets’ stellar run was driven by a growing economy, solid consumer spending and a strong jobs market, while skyrocketing prices for companies in the artificial intelligence business helped lift the market to new heights.
After three interest rate cuts last year, the US Federal Reserve has signaled a more cautious approach heading into this year as the country prepares for Trump’s transition into the White House.
Trump’s threats to hike tariffs on imported goods have raised anxiety that inflation could be reignited as companies pass along the cost of tariffs.
In energy trading, benchmark US crude oil rose US$0.26 to US$71.98 a barrel.
Brent crude, the international standard, added US$0.28 to US$74.85 a barrel.
The US dollar slipped to ￥156.79 from ￥157.24, and the euro rose to US$1.0368 from US$1.0359.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The German laser and plasma generator company will expand its local services as its specialized offerings support Taiwan’s semiconductor industries Trumpf SE + Co KG, a global leader in supplying laser technology and plasma generators used in chip production, is expanding its investments in Taiwan in an effort to deeply integrate into the global semiconductor supply chain in the pursuit of growth. The company, headquartered in Ditzingen, Germany, has invested significantly in a newly inaugurated regional technical center for plasma generators in Taoyuan, its latest expansion in Taiwan after being engaged in various industries for more than 25 years. The center, the first of its kind Trumpf built outside Germany, aims to serve customers from Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and South Korea,
Gasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.2 per liter this week, down for a second consecutive week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. The price adjustments came even as international crude oil prices rose last week, as traders
POWERING UP: PSUs for AI servers made up about 50% of Delta’s total server PSU revenue during the first three quarters of last year, the company said Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) reported record-high revenue of NT$161.61 billion (US$5.11 billion) for last quarter and said it remains positive about this quarter. Last quarter’s figure was up 7.6 percent from the previous quarter and 41.51 percent higher than a year earlier, and largely in line with Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co’s (元大投顧) forecast of NT$160 billion. Delta’s annual revenue last year rose 31.76 percent year-on-year to NT$554.89 billion, also a record high for the company. Its strong performance reflected continued demand for high-performance power solutions and advanced liquid-cooling products used in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers,
SIZE MATTERS: TSMC started phasing out 8-inch wafer production last year, while Samsung is more aggressively retiring 8-inch capacity, TrendForce said Chipmakers are expected to raise prices of 8-inch wafers by up to 20 percent this year on concern over supply constraints as major contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co gradually retire less advanced wafer capacity, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. It is the first significant across-the-board price hike since a global semiconductor correction in 2023, the Taipei-based market researcher said in a report. Global 8-inch wafer capacity slid 0.3 percent year-on-year last year, although 8-inch wafer prices still hovered at relatively stable levels throughout the year, TrendForce said. The downward trend is expected to continue this year,
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