The TAIEX yesterday rose 0.2 percent to close at 14,777.02 points after falling in the two previous sessions amid rising tensions across the Taiwan Strait.
However, turnover fell to NT$174.809 billion (US$5.83 billion), as most investors retreated to the sidelines amid US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.
Foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$6.12 billion of shares on the main board, compared with NT$19.66 billion net sold on Tuesday, Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) data showed.
Photo: CNA
“Political issues were the main reason why transaction shrank lately,” Hua Nan Securities Investment Management Co (華南投顧) chairman David Chu (儲祥生) said by telephone.
Investors would observe the effects of China’s retaliatory measures and see if more Taiwan-made products would be banned from the Chinese market, Chu said.
The National Stabilization Fund is also expected to lend support to the market in the near term, he said.
The Chinese customs agency on Monday night banned the imports of more than 100 Taiwanese food brands. Beijing yesterday also banned imports of fruit and fish from Taiwan, and suspended exports of natural sand to Taiwan.
“Judging from the gains posted by semiconductor heavyweights, I suspected the stabilization fund entered the market to bolster market confidence amid worries over tensions with China due to Pelosi’s visit,” Concord Securities Co (康和證券) analyst Kerry Huang (黃志祺) said.
The NT$500 billion fund was on July 12 authorized to intervene in the equity market to serve as a buffer against unexpected external factors that might disrupt market movement.
“Many investors appeared reluctant to chase prices for the moment, as they continued to watch the impact from Pelosi’s visit,” Huang said, referring to military exercises that China is set to begin today in waters around Taiwan.
In yesterday’s session, contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) was the target of some late-session buying, closing up 1.85 percent.
Led by TSMC, the electronics sector edged up 0.79 percent, with the semiconductor sub-index rising 1.73 percent.
The non-tech sector, especially food stocks, continued to show signs of weakness as China imposed more economic restrictions on Taiwan in response to Pelosi’s visit, and an industry association for Taiwanese bakeries said on Tuesday that it would seek the government’s help in accessing other foreign markets.
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