Asian stock markets were mixed on Friday after Wall Street sank on worries about the health of US banks under pressure from interest rate hikes.
Taiwan and Sydney advanced, while Shanghai declined.
Markets in Japan and South Korea were closed because of holidays.
Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index lost 0.7 percent on Thursday as investors worried about the health of banks following three high-profile failures in the US and one in Switzerland.
Shares of PacWest Bancorp, a target of investor scrutiny, tumbled 50.6 percent.
The bank said that it was considering options and has been approached by potential partners and investors.
Investors are watching what steps authorities might take to “limit further contagion risks,” IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong (葉俊榮) said in a report. “Any inaction over the weekend could translate to a more downbeat risk environment to start next week.”
In Taipei, the TAIEX closed up 17.04 points, or 0.11 percent, at 15,626.07, increasing 0.3 percent from a week earlier.
Turnover totaled NT$180.935 billion (US$5.9 billion).
The Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.48 percent to 3,334.50, but posted a weekly gain of 0.34 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.5 percent to 20,049.3, up 0.78 percent weekly.
Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.37 percent to 7,220.0, dropping 1.22 percent from a week earlier, while India’s SENSEX closed down 1.13 percent at 61,054.29 and lost 0.1 percent over the week.
Additional reporting by staff writer, with CNA
Semiconductor shares in China surged yesterday after Reuters reported the US had ordered chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers, which investors believe could accelerate Beijing’s self-reliance efforts. TSMC yesterday started to suspend shipments of certain sophisticated chips to some Chinese clients after receiving a letter from the US Department of Commerce imposing export restrictions on those products, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed source. The US imposed export restrictions on TSMC’s 7-nanometer or more advanced designs, Reuters reported. Investors figured that would encourage authorities to support China’s industry and bought shares
TECH WAR CONTINUES: The suspension of TSMC AI chips and GPUs would be a heavy blow to China’s chip designers and would affect its competitive edge Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, is reportedly to halt supply of artificial intelligence (AI) chips and graphics processing units (GPUs) made on 7-nanometer or more advanced process technologies from next week in order to comply with US Department of Commerce rules. TSMC has sent e-mails to its Chinese AI customers, informing them about the suspension starting on Monday, Chinese online news outlet Ijiwei.com (愛集微) reported yesterday. The US Department of Commerce has not formally unveiled further semiconductor measures against China yet. “TSMC does not comment on market rumors. TSMC is a law-abiding company and we are
FLEXIBLE: Taiwan can develop its own ground station equipment, and has highly competitive manufacturers and suppliers with diversified production, the MOEA said The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday disputed reports that suppliers to US-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) had been asked to move production out of Taiwan. Reuters had reported on Tuesday last week that Elon Musk-owned SpaceX had asked their manufacturers to produce outside of Taiwan given geopolitical risks and that at least one Taiwanese supplier had been pushed to relocate production to Vietnam. SpaceX’s requests place a renewed focus on the contentious relationship Musk has had with Taiwan, especially after he said last year that Taiwan is an “integral part” of China, sparking sharp criticism from Taiwanese authorities. The ministry said
US President Joe Biden’s administration is racing to complete CHIPS and Science Act agreements with companies such as Intel Corp and Samsung Electronics Co, aiming to shore up one of its signature initiatives before US president-elect Donald Trump enters the White House. The US Department of Commerce has allocated more than 90 percent of the US$39 billion in grants under the act, a landmark law enacted in 2022 designed to rebuild the domestic chip industry. However, the agency has only announced one binding agreement so far. The next two months would prove critical for more than 20 companies still in the process
RSS