The TAIEX yesterday rode the momentum from a session earlier to close above 18,000 points at a historic high, with the bellwether electronics sector, in particular semiconductor stocks, leading the upturn.
“Rotational buying continued to dictate the local main board,” Mega International Investment Services Corp (兆豐國際投顧) analyst Alex Huang (黃國偉) said. “Today, high-priced integrated circuit [IC] designers were spotlighted.”
The TAIEX closed the day up 87.30 points, or 0.49 percent, at 18,048.94, surpassing its previous record close of 18,034.19 on July 15.
Photo: CNA
The gauge has risen 22.51 percent so far this year, poised for a third annual gain and outperforming most of its Asian peers.
“Today’s gains have boosted market sentiment, so I expect local institutional investors will continue to buy at a time when many foreign institutional investors are absent, but stiff technical resistance could be seen ahead of 18,250 points,” Huang said.
Despite the absence of many foreign institutional investors during the Christmas and New Year holidays, the market received support from local investors who ramped up their leveraged bets on a bull run.
“Taiwan stocks are likely to rise further next year due to ample funding and a positive tech outlook,” Shin Kong Investment Trust Co (新光投信) chairman Quincy Liu (劉坤錫) said. “Wafer and foundry industries are expected to remain healthy next year.”
Turnover yesterday was relatively thin at NT$236.446 billion (US$8.53 billion), with foreign institutional investors buying a net NT$11.17 billion of shares on the main board, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
The electronics sector rose 0.62 percent, while the semiconductor sub-index was up 0.59 percent.
Leading the semiconductor sector’s upturn, shares of smartphone chip designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) rose 2.23 percent to close at NT$1,145 amid optimism on shipments of the company’s flagship 5G Dimensity 9000 chip.
That spurred buying of other high-priced IC designers, with shares of power management IC designer Silergy Corp (矽力杰) soaring 4.79 percent to close at NT$5,030 and those of application-specific IC designer Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯) rising 3.43 percent to close at NT$1,025.
Shares of the world’s largest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), rose 0.33 percent to close at NT$606.
The gains boosted TSMC’s market capitalization by NT$51.8 billion to NT$15.71 trillion and contributed about 14 points to the TAIEX’s upturn, although a low turnover limited the gains, dealers said.
Among other semiconductor stocks, those of contract chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (聯電) closed unchanged at NT$64.30, while shares of DRAM chip supplier Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) rose 1.19 percent to close at NT$76.60.
“As the tech sector served as a driver to the TAIEX, many old-economy stocks appeared marginalized,” Huang said.
The transportation sector rose 0.49 percent on the back of gains in airline stocks, with those of China Airlines Ltd (中華航空) up 3.05 percent to NT$27 and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) shares rising 2.24 percent to close at NT$27.40.
However, shipping stocks were mixed.
Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運) shares closed up 0.36 percent at NT$139.50, while those of rivals Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp (陽明海運) and Wan Hai Lines Ltd (萬海航運) closed unchanged at NT$122.50 and NT$199 respectively.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
RSS