EQUITIES
Electronics boost TAIEX
The TAIEX yesterday rose to close above 15,000 points, as the electronics sector recouped early losses, helping the broader market climb out of the doldrums. However, turnover remained thin as investors remained cautious amid lingering concerns over possible volatility among tech stocks in the US, which might be affected by US Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. The TAIEX closed up 141.81 points, or 0.95 percent, at the day’s high of 15,095.44. The electronics sector gained 1.19 percent, the biotech sector rose 1.9 percent, the transportation sector advanced 0.69 percent and the financial sector was up 0.8 percent. Turnover totaled NT$207.894 billion (US$6.83 billion), with foreign institutional investors buying a net NT$2.74 billion of shares on the main board after selling a net NT$18.47 billion on Tuesday, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
MANUFACTURING
Growth remains slow in July
Taiwan’s manufacturing sector continued to record sluggish growth in July, as rising inflation worldwide and worries over the US’ and China’s economies have dented the confidence of many manufacturers, the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (台灣經濟研究院) said yesterday. The composite index, which measures the fundamentals of the manufacturing sector, fell from 12.18 points from a month earlier to 11.88 in July, registering “yellow-blue,” indicating sluggish growth, the institute said. It was the fifth consecutive month that the manufacturing sector has been yellow-blue. Of the composite index’s five gauges, the sub-indices on demand, pricing and the general business climate declined by 0.58, 0.3, and 0.02 points respectively, while the sub-indices on purchases of raw materials and costs rose by 0.48 and 0.12 points respectively, the institute said.
SEMICONDUCTORS
South Korea shipments drop
South Korean chipmakers recorded their first decline in factory shipments in almost three years in July, highlighting weakening demand for semiconductors, which serve as a barometer for the global economy. Semiconductor shipments tumbled 22.7 percent from a year earlier, after having risen 5.1 percent in June, the South Korean National Statistical Office said in a statement yesterday. Nationwide inventories remained elevated in July, up 80 percent from a year earlier and unchanged from a month earlier. Chip production slowed in July for a fourth straight month, suggesting that key producers such as Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc are adjusting output to reflect cooling demand and mounting stockpiles.
EQUITIES
Asia-Pacific IPOs buck trend
In a year where initial public offerings (IPOs) have slumped by more than two-thirds globally, the summer break might be expected to be especially quiet. Not so in Asia, where stock listings have notched their second-highest August haul on record. First-time share sales in the Asia-Pacific region totaled US$14.9 billion this month, data compiled by Bloomberg showed. The robust showing is almost entirely down to issuers from China and Hong Kong, which accounted for all but two of the IPOs, raising at least US$100 million, the data showed. The world’s largest travel retailer, China Tourism Group Duty Free Corp (中國旅遊集團中免), topped the list with its US$2.1 billion Hong Kong listing, followed by the two Chinese IPOs of Shanghai United Imaging Healthcare Co (上海聯影醫療科技) and Hygon Information Technology Co (海光信息技術).
Staff writer, with agencies
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