Taiwanese shares yesterday smashed closing records to top 27,000 points as the bellwether electronics sector continued its momentum after a deal announced by chip designer Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) and OpenAI overnight.
The TAIEX closed up 450.89 points, or 1.68 percent, at 27,211.95, with turnover on the main board totaling NT$556.203 billion (US$18.22 billion), Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
Foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$676.56 million of shares on the main board, the data showed.
Photo: CNA
After strong gains, the market capitalization of the TAIEX reached a high of almost NT$88 trillion.
“The TAIEX continued to ride the wave of AI [artificial intelligence] enthusiasm, in particular after the AMD-Open AI deal,” Cathay Futures Consultant Co (國泰證期) analyst Tsai Ming-han (蔡明翰) said.
AMD on Monday announced it would supply AI chips to OpenAI and also agreed to the ChatGPT creator buying a stake of up to 10 percent in the chip designer.
“The deal drove up chip stocks in the US overnight and it was no surprise that their counterparts in Taiwan followed suit with TSMC [Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, 台積電] in focus,” Tsai said.
After its American depositary receipts rose 3.49 percent overnight, TSMC, the most heavily weighted local stock, gained 2.5 percent to close at a high of NT$1,435 to boost its market cap to a record high of NT$37.21 trillion.
TSMC’s gains contributed about 280 points to the TAIEX’s rise and pushed the electronics index 2.05 percent higher.
“After the TAIEX breached 27,000 points, some investors could pocket their gains to create volatility,” Tsai said. “But, as the US Federal Reserve has started a rate cut cycle, high liquidity could possibly ease downward pressure.”
Elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose just six points to 47,950.88 giving up nearly all of its earlier gains after rising almost 5 percent to a record close on Monday.
Most other markets also rose, with Singapore, Wellington, Mumbai, Bangkok, Manila and Jakarta all up, while Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul were closed for holidays.
Meanwhile, gold hit a fresh peak of US$3,977.44 — pushing closer to US$4,000 — as investors closely watch the US government shutdown, with Republicans and Democrats appearing no closer to an agreement.
Bets on the Fed cutting interest rates this month and the political crisis in France is adding to the allure of the safe-haven asset.
The upbeat mood also gave bitcoin a bump, hitting a record high of US$126,251.
Additional reporting by AFP
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