Taipei: Shares in Taiwan saw a significant boost, climbing over 600 points as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) attracted strong buying interest, reaching a new peak. This surge followed a rally among tech stocks on the U.S. markets late last week. The Taiex, the weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), closed up by 639.41 points or 2.79 percent, at 23,547.41, with turnover reaching NT$406.48 billion (US$12.36 billion).
According to Focus Taiwan, TSMC, a major player in the local market, rose by 4.56 percent, closing at a new high of NT$1,125.00. This gain significantly contributed approximately 400 points to the Taiex's rise and pushed the electronics index up by 3.42 percent. The market opened with a 0.98 percent increase, with momentum building towards the end of the session, driven by a 1.77 percent rise in the Nasdaq index ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
Investment interest spread beyond TSMC to other semiconductor stocks. MediaTek Inc., a prominent smartphone IC designer, saw its shares rise by 4.40 percent, closing at NT$1,425.00. ASE Technology Holding Co., a provider of IC packaging and testing services, climbed 3.11 percent to NT$116.00. Global Unichip Corp., TSMC's ASIC design subsidiary, experienced a 5.51 percent increase, ending at NT$1,340.00.
Other significant gains included iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., which rose by 1.93 percent to NT$184.50, and Quanta Computer Inc., an AI server manufacturer, which added 1.73 percent to close at NT$294.00. MasterLink Securities analyst Tom Tang noted the anticipation surrounding Nvidia's keynote at CES, which likely fueled the strong performance of tech stocks both in the U.S. and Taiwan.
In the broader market, nontech stocks also recorded gains. Formosa Plastics Corp. increased by 5.07 percent to NT$36.25, and Nan Ya Plastics Corp. climbed 5.75 percent to NT$31.25. In the steel sector, China Steel Corp. rose 1.58 percent, closing at NT$19.30, while Far Eastern New Century Corp. in the textile industry gained 1.42 percent to end at NT$32.10. The financial sector also saw growth, with Cathay Financial Holding Co. rising 1.47 percent to NT$68.80 and Fubon Financial Holding Co. up 0.88 percent at NT$91.90.
Foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$50.01 billion worth of shares on the main board, surpassing the average turnover of NT$320 billion recorded during the previous ten sessions.