Equity markets were mixed yesterday, as nervous investors braced for US President Donald Trump’s wave of tariffs later in the day, with speculation about what he has in store stoking uncertainty on trading floors.
Shares in Taiwan closed slightly higher as investors appeared reluctant to chase prices amid lingering concerns over the fresh round of tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.
The TAIEX closed up 18.05 points, or 0.08 percent, at 21,298.22.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the most heavily weighted stock in the TAIEX, fell 0.21 percent to close at NT$942.
“TSMC has recently faced headwinds largely due to tariff scares rather than anything to do with its fundamentals,” MasterLink Securities Corp (元富證券) analyst Tom Tang (湯忠謙) said. “Investors just do not like such uncertainties.”
Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo, Shanghai, Sydney, Wellington, Manila, Mumbai and Bangkok also rose, while Singapore and Seoul slipped with London, Paris and Frankfurt at the opening. Hong Kong barely moved.
Equities have been battered leading up to Trump’s latest announcement of reciprocal tariffs as the ongoing uncertainty was spooking markets.
The US president’s “Liberation Day” tariff plans have ramped up fears of a global trade war after several countries warned they were lining up their responses, and economists have warned that economic growth could take a hit and inflation reignite, dealing a blow to hopes that central banks would continue cutting interest rates.
Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said US tariffs could have a significant impact on trade activity in affected nations.
“Depending on the size and area of the tariffs, it is possible they will have a large impact on trade activities among nations,” Ueda yesterday said in response to questions in parliament.
“Another big point is how household and business sentiment will be affected by them, influencing overall spending,” he added.
Ueda’s remarks suggest he continues to monitor developments while refraining from offering any hints as to whether he is become more or less cautious over the central bank’s rate hike path.
Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his rival in next month’s election, Liberal Party leader Peter Dutton, said they would stand up for the country’s national interests in the face of looming US tariffs that could hit Australian beef.
Europe will respond to the likely implementation of tariffs by Trump in a proportionate manner, but will not escalate tensions under any circumstances, French Minister for Industry and Energy Marc Ferracci said yesterday.
“Europe has always been on the side of negotiation and calming things down, because trade wars, you know, only produce losers,” Ferracci told RMC radio.
As the world braces for Trump’s rollout of reciprocal tariffs, Vietnam said it plans to send another top official and business delegation to the US this weekend.
Thailand pledged to import more US energy and food products, while Mexico said there would be no “eye for an eye” approach to US tariffs.
Additional reporting by CNA, Bloomberg and Reuters
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday met with some of the nation’s largest insurance companies as a skyrocketing New Taiwan dollar piles pressure on their hundreds of billions of dollars in US bond investments. The commission has asked some life insurance firms, among the biggest Asian holders of US debt, to discuss how the rapidly strengthening NT dollar has impacted their operations, people familiar with the matter said. The meeting took place as the NT dollar jumped as much as 5 percent yesterday, its biggest intraday gain in more than three decades. The local currency surged as exporters rushed to