Accra:Shares on Taiwan's stock exchange closed lower on Monday, though the decline was curbed by a late rally in major technology stocks, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC).
According to Focus Taiwan, the Taiex, Taiwan's benchmark index, fell by 289.18 points or 0.61 percent to end at 46,822.08. The index had fluctuated between 46,170.00 and 46,844.64 throughout the day, with a total turnover amounting to NT$825.10 billion (approximately US$25.43 billion).
The market's early trading session saw a sharp drop of over 940 points, influenced by a 3.83 percent fall in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index the previous Friday. However, as the Taiex neared its 60-day moving average of 46,089 points, investors began to purchase shares at bargain prices. Kerry Huang, an analyst at Concord Securities, noted this activity was spurred by a rebound in the Seoul market, especially among memory chipmakers like Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc.
TSMC, which constitutes more than 40 percent of the market's capitalization, remained unchanged at NT$2,420.00, helping stabilize the market. Huang speculated that government-backed funds might have been involved in purchasing TSMC shares to bolster the index. Although some memory chipmakers improved from their intraday lows, Nanya Technology Corp. and Winbond Electronics Corp. still closed down by 2.57 percent and 3.72 percent, respectively.
MediaTek Inc. saw a decline, shedding 1.06 percent to close at NT$4,205.00, while Global Unichip Corp., TSMC's ASIC design subsidiary, rose 4.68 percent to NT$7,830.00. Among other electronics sector companies, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. fell 1.84 percent, and Delta Electronics Inc. gained 0.31 percent.
While non-tech sectors showed sluggish performance, glass fiber cloth manufacturers benefited from strong demand for materials in printed circuit boards. Fulltech Fiber Glass Corp. surged 10 percent, and Baotek Industrial Materials Ltd. rose 4.84 percent.
In other sectors, Formosa Plastics Corp. and Nan Ya Plastics Corp. experienced losses, and in finance, both Fubon Financial Holding Co. and Cathay Financial Holding Co. saw their shares decline. Huang emphasized that the Taiex's future performance would depend on U.S. market trends and the stability of U.S. Treasury yields, which are crucial for AI companies' fundraising.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of NT$76.74 billion in shares on the Taiwan market on Monday, as reported by the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
