Shares in Taiwan yesterday rose sharply as fears over near-term interest rate hikes in the US subsided following testimony by US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at a congressional hearing.
Powell said that while there is inflation in the US, most of the increase in prices was temporary, a view that helped push the tech-heavy NASDAQ to an all-time high and enabled the bellwether electronics sector to lead the upturn in Taipei trading, an analyst said.
“Powell’s comments did ease concerns over a possible rate hike cycle, so investors at home and abroad became more willing to pick up bargains after recent heavy losses,” Cathay Futures Consultant Co (國泰證期顧問) analyst Tsai Ming-han (蔡明翰) said.
Before yesterday’s surge, the TAIEX fell 1.48 percent on Monday on rate hike fears and rose only 0.07 percent on Tuesday.
“The electronics sector made a comeback and drove the gains on the broader market as investors reacted to the NASDAQ rally,” Tsai said. “In addition to the semiconductor industry, many other electronics component stocks also steamed ahead, benefiting the broader market.”
The TAIEX yesterday closed up 261.16 points, or 1.53 percent, at 17,336.71, on turnover of NT$524.793 billion (US$18.74 billion), Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
Foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$10.96 billion in shares.
Contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and United Microelectronics Corp (聯電) rose 2.95 percent and 3.92 percent respectively, while smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) increased 4.21 percent and IC packaging and testing services provider ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控) gained 2.65 percent.
“Despite a high-flying TAIEX, old-economy stocks appeared mixed, as shipping and select raw material stocks faced profit-taking as buying concentrated on the electronics sector,” Tsai said.
The transportation sector plunged 8.49 percent, with shipping firms Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運), Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp (陽明海運) and Wan Hai Lines Ltd (萬海航運) all losing 10 percent, the maximum daily decline.
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (台灣高鐵) bucked the downturn, rising 1.01 percent.
In the steel sector, which lost 2.61 percent, China Steel Corp (中鋼) fell 2.07 percent, Tung Ho Steel Enterprise Corp (東和鋼鐵) dropped 3.37 percent and Chung Hung Steel Corp (中鴻鋼鐵) declined 6.67 percent.
“Investors should keep a close eye on whether the electronics sector’s momentum will continue. If it does not, the TAIEX would probably not challenge 17,709 points — an intraday high on April 29 — or end above that level,” Tsai said.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”