The TAIEX yesterday took a beating, tumbling more than 200 points, with large-cap stocks in focus, as Taiwan reported its first locally transmitted case of COVID-19 in 253 days.
Heavy selling emerged across the board in the late session, in particular in the bellwether electronics sector, and pushed the TAIEX below 14,200 points by the end of trading, dealers said.
“The first indigenous COVID-19 case since April 12 struck a nerve with many investors,” Cathay Futures Consultant Co (國泰證期顧問) analyst Tsai Ming-han (蔡明翰) said. “Moreover, the escalation in the number of infections in the UK has made the market more concerned.”
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
The TAIEX ended down 207.50 points, or 1.44 percent, at 14,177.46, on turnover of NT$288.247 billion (US$10.098 billion), compared with NT$250.02 billion the previous session.
Foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$9.99 billion of shares on the main board.
“Today’s expanded turnover was evidence of panic selling, in particular in the late trading session,” Tsai said. “It is possible that the US markets will head south tonight, so investors in the region simply cut their holdings now to avoid more losses on Wednesday [today].”
The electronics sector declined 1.49 percent.
“After the sector’s recent strong gains, investors simply seized on virus fears to take profits,” Tsai said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) fell 1.36 percent to close at the day’s low of NT$509. Led by TSMC, the semiconductor sub-index ended down 1.57 percent.
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦) ended down 1.51 percent at NT$78.3, after the company said that the latest domestic COVID-19 case involved an employee from its affiliate firm.
“It appears that the situation in Europe has been severe after the UK reported a new virus variant, prompting many investors to worry about the economy,” Tsai said.
Such worries plunged international crude oil futures contracts by 2.77 percent in New York and 2.89 percent in London.
In the wake of the falling crude prices, petrochemical stocks came under pressure, but COVID-19 fears boosted biotech stocks, dealers said.
Among them, drug brand Sinphar Pharmaceutical Co Ltd (杏輝藥品) soared 10 percent, the maximum daily amount, to close at NT$32.75, while vaccine developer Adimmune Corp (國光生技) rose 6.73 percent to end at NT$60.3 and fast test kit maker Panion & BF Biotech Inc (寶齡富錦) increased 5.46 percent to end at NT$88.9.
“The bright spot is that some countries have started to administer vaccines against COVID-19 and the US has passed a new round of stimulus measures, so I think the TAIEX will see technical support at about 14,116 points, the 20-day moving average,” Tsai said.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
RSS