The TAIEX yesterday staged a technical rebound after US President Donald Trump postponed tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada for one month, but gains were capped ahead of 23,000 points, dealers said.
After falling 3.53 percent a session earlier, the TAIEX closed up 99.25 points, or 0.44 percent, at 22,793.96. Turnover totaled NT$408.99 billion (US$12.4 billion).
Led by the electronics sector, investors appeared relieved by Trump’s move to delay a 25 percent tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada for one month, dealers said.
Photo: CNA
However, with the TAIEX moving closer to 23,000 points, some investors shifted to the sell side, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) sustained most of its earlier gains to prevent the broader market from weakening, dealers added.
TSMC, the local market’s most heavily weighted stock, rose 2.34 percent to close at NT$1,095. Its gains represented about 200 points in the TAIEX’s rise.
“Today’s movement showed many investors stayed cautious about Trump’s policies,” Mega International Investment Services Corp (兆豐國際投顧) analyst Alex Huang (黃國偉) said. “Despite the postponement of the tariffs on Mexico and Canada, in the era of an unpredictable Trump, investors simply wanted to wait.”
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯) soared 10 percent, the maximum daily increase, to close at NT$3,245 as the stock was named by some analysts as a beneficiary amid worry over Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek (深度求索).
Also in the technology sector, iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) lost 0.3 percent to close at NT$165, and Quanta Computer Inc (廣達), another contract electronics maker, shed 3.29 percent to close at NT$235.
Many old economy stocks limited the upturn on the TAIEX, Huang said.
Among them, Chia Hsin Cement Corp (嘉新水泥) lost 2.03 percent to close at NT$16.85. Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp (台化) shed 3.79 percent to close at NT$26.65 and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) closed down 3.35 percent at NT$33.20.
“Market sentiment stayed cautious as investors kept alert over Trump’s threats of massive tariffs on chips,” Huang said. “Investors had better keep more cash on hand now.”
Despite the TAIEX’s rebound, foreign institutional investors yesterday sold a net NT$15.19 billion of shares on the main board, the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp said.
Asian stock markets also advanced, although unease about the lack of movement on averting the Chinese tariffs saw traders’ pare some of the morning’s gains.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index, which rose more than 3 percent in the morning, closed 2.83 percent higher at 20,789.96, with analysts saying the measures so far would not have a major impact on China’s economy.
Tokyo, Seoul, Manila, Sydney, Mumbai, Bangkok and Wellington also closed higher, while Sydney and Singapore edged down.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.7 percent higher at 38,798.37.
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