Taipei: Taiwan shares surged to a new high on Thursday as investors showed optimism towards artificial intelligence developments, anticipating positive outcomes from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s (TSMC) upcoming investor conference.
According to Focus Taiwan, the Taiex, the weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), increased by 372.16 points, or 1.36 percent, closing at 27,647.87. It fluctuated between 27,337.32 and 27,732.78 during the day, with a turnover reaching NT$546.56 billion (US$17.83 billion).
Concord Securities analyst Kerry Huang noted that TSMC was a prominent player in the day’s trading activity amidst the booming AI era. TSMC’s American depositary receipts rose 2.96 percent overnight, leading to a 1.37 percent increase in its local market share price, closing at a new high of NT$1,485.00. This contributed 160 points to the Taiex’s rise and boosted the electronics subindex by 1.69 percent.
Memory chip suppliers also performed strongly, with Winbond Electronics Corp. and Nanya Electronics Corp. both seeing a maximum daily increase of 10 percent, closing at NT$44.00 and NT$94.90, respectively. Additionally, MediaTek Inc., a smartphone IC designer, rose 1.14 percent to NT$1,330.00, and ASE Technology Holding Co., an IC packaging and testing services provider, gained 7.58 percent, finishing at NT$191.50.
Huang highlighted Hon Hai Precision Industry Co.’s recovery from recent stagnation, driven by optimism regarding its AI server sales, which provided further momentum to the market. Hon Hai saw a 7.99 percent rise, closing at NT$223.00. LITE-ON Technology Corp., known for its power management solutions for AI servers, also gained, ending 4.64 percent higher at NT$169.00.
In the old economy sector, specific stocks attracted strong buying due to their tech sector ties. Walsin Lihwa Corp., with a stake in Winbond Electronics, surged 10 percent to NT$29.85. Teco Electric and Machinery Co., which has an AI partnership with Hon Hai, climbed 2.78 percent to NT$111.00. Nan Ya Plastics Corp. increased by 2.53 percent, closing at NT$41.45, backed by its investments in Nanya Technology.
However, other old economy stocks showed mixed results, with Eclat Textile Co. rising 0.46 percent to NT$441.50, while competitor Far Eastern New Century Corp. fell 0.92 percent to NT$27.05.
The financial sector experienced a slight decline, losing 0.32 percent. Cathay Financial Holding Co. dropped 0.90 percent to NT$65.80, whereas Fubon Financial Holding Co. rose 0.22 percent to NT$89.80.
Huang suggested that the recent strong gains could lead to a technical pullback soon, with evolving trade tensions between the United States and China potentially impacting market sentiment. According to the TWSE, foreign institutional investors purchased a net NT$11.78 billion worth of shares on the main board on Thursday.
