Taiwanese shares yesterday closed at a new high, but gave up most of earlier gains as investors rushed to lock in their significant profits built in recent sessions with contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in focus.
The TAIEX closed up 63.78 points, or 0.23 percent, at 27,752.41. Turnover on the main board totaled NT$513.92 billion (US$16.74 billion), Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
Foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$240.71 million of shares on the main board, the exchange said.
Photo: CNA
Despite the high closing, “investors have turned cautious about a possible major technical pullback after the TAIEX posted gains since US President Donald Trump’s administration announced sweeping reciprocal tariffs in April,” Mega International Investment Services Corp (兆豐國際投顧) analyst Alex Huang (黃國偉) said.
Before yesterday, the TAIEX had soared 10,296.87 points, or 59.21 percent, from the closing level of 17,391.76 on April 9.
“Today’s expanded turnover showed many investors tended to trim holdings now; TSMC was among the targets,” Huang said. “But I prefer to say TSMC’s fundamentals stay sound, while such positive leads have been priced in.”
TSMC, the most heavily weighted stock, closed unchanged at NT$1,480, off a high of NT$1,500, while iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) rose 0.21 percent to close at NT$239.
Elsewhere, most stock markets extended gains yesterday on further signs that US-China trade tensions were easing and as investors looked to corporate earnings.
Tokyo hit another record as Japan swore in new prime minister Sanae Takaichi and brought an end to a period of political uncertainty, while the yen weakened amid higher expectations for a slower pace of interest rate hikes under Takaichi’s government.
Additional reporting by AFP
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