The stock market rallied yesterday by nearly 4 percent as investors snatched up financial and construction stocks, which are expected to benefit from president-elect Ma Ying-jeou's (
The TAIEX rose by 3.99 percent, or 340.36 points, to close at 8,865.35 points after hitting a high of 9,049.23 earlier yesterday. Turnover was NT$270.87 billion (US$8.83 billion), up from Friday's NT$170 billion. Overseas fund managers invested heavily, buying a net NT$57.91 billion of local stocks.
The rally prompted the NT dollar to appreciate NT$0.321 to NT$30.229 against the greenback, with turnover hitting an all-time high of US$5 billion.
"Financial and construction shares are favored by investors because they are expecting Ma's campaign promises to boost [companies in those sectors]. Tech shares are lagging behind," said Andrew Teng (
Most financial service providers saw their stock prices increase by percentages approaching the daily limit, led by Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控), which advanced 6.96 percent to NT$87.6. Taishin Financial Holding Co Ltd (台新金控), the nation's third-largest financial service provider, rose 6.81 percent to NT$15.55.
Financial companies could benefit from improving domestic consumption and recent approval from the government to invest in Chinese banks, Teng said.
Peter Kurz, an analyst with Citi's local branch, said in a report released on Sunday that investors should target laggard banks and asset plays.
"First Commercial Bank (
However, Teng said investors should be cautious about buying financial shares. He cited mounting risk, limited upside and imminent profit-taking and added that the recent rally in financial shares had started several trading days before the election.
Construction shares were also some of the biggest winners yesterday, with leading stocks approaching the 7 percent daily limit. Shining Building Business Co Ltd (鄉林建設) and Farglory Land Development Co Ltd (遠雄建設) advanced 6.96 percent and 6.78 percent to NT$95.3 and NT$104 respectively.
Ma's plan to allow Chinese to invest in the property market could see prices for upscale housing increase by 20 percent and those for commercial offices surge by 30 percent by the end of the year, said Victor Chang (張欣民), an executive at US-based real estate agency Electronics Realty Associates Inc.
Kurz said many investors had held off until after the election, despite clear signs of a Ma victory.
"We see initial upside to 9,500 and maintain our 12,000 year-end target," he said.
Financial, airline and construction industries would be the biggest beneficiaries of Ma's policies, he said.
Eva Airways Corp (
INVESTIGATION: The case is the latest instance of a DPP figure being implicated in an espionage network accused of allegedly leaking information to Chinese intelligence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑) was detained and held incommunicado yesterday on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Ho was implicated during its investigation into alleged spying activities by former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨). Prosecutors said there is reason to believe Ho breached the National Security Act (國家安全法) by leaking classified Ministry of Foreign Affairs information to Chinese intelligence. Following interrogation, prosecutors petitioned the Taipei District Court to detain Ho, citing concerns over potential collusion or tampering of evidence. The
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
Seventy percent of middle and elementary schools now conduct English classes entirely in English, the Ministry of Education said, as it encourages schools nationwide to adopt this practice Minister of Education (MOE) Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is scheduled to present a report on the government’s bilingual education policy to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee today. The report would outline strategies aimed at expanding access to education, reducing regional disparities and improving talent cultivation. Implementation of bilingual education policies has varied across local governments, occasionally drawing public criticism. For example, some schools have required teachers of non-English subjects to pass English proficiency
TRADE: The premier pledged safeguards on ‘Made in Taiwan’ labeling, anti-dumping measures and stricter export controls to strengthen its position in trade talks Products labeled “made in Taiwan” must be genuinely made in Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, vowing to enforce strict safeguards against “origin laundering” and initiate anti-dumping investigations to prevent China dumping its products in Taiwan. Cho made the remarks in a discussion session with representatives from industries in Kaohsiung. In response to the US government’s recent announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners, President William Lai (賴清德) and Cho last week began a series of consultations with industry leaders nationwide to gather feedback and address concerns. Taiwanese and US officials held a videoconference on Friday evening to discuss the
RSS