The number of major retail investors in the local stock market in the third quarter fell from the previous quarter as Taiwanese shares showed significant fluctuations, data compiled by the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) showed on Tuesday last week.
A total of 3,519 “big players” participated in the main board in the July-to-September quarter, down from 4,165 in the previous quarter, the data showed.
A “big player” is defined as an investor who trades at least NT$500 million (US$15.59 million) in shares on the TWSE in a single quarter.
Photo: CNA
In addition, the number of “mid-sized players” — or retail investors with a quarterly turnover of between NT$100 million and NT$500 million — also decreased to 32,482 last quarter from 36,284 the previous quarter, TWSE data showed.
The quarterly decreases of 15.51 percent and 10.48 percent in the number of big players and mid-sized players respectively last quarter came as the TAIEX experienced volatile trading — reaching a record high to falling below the 20,000-point mark — with fewer such investors being drawn into local equities.
However, last quarter’s number of big players and medium-sized players is still the second highest in the past 11 and 12 quarters respectively, the data showed.
Meanwhile, the number of retail investors with quarterly trading of less than NT$100 million totaled 5.52 million last quarter, representing a sequential increase of 286,066, the highest-ever increase, TWSE data showed.
Such figures are seen as an important indicator of investor confidence in Taiwanese equities, as the total market turnover on the main board has grown steadily over the past few quarters, with continued optimism in artificial intelligence (AI) development attracting more investors into the market to chase AI-related stocks, the exchange said.
Overall, retail investors accounted for 53.38 percent of the market’s turnover of NT$26.56 trillion in the third quarter, down from 54.88 percent in the second quarter, while foreign institutional investors made up 34.18 percent, up from 33.39 percent. Local institutional investors represented the remaining 12.44 percent, up from 11.73 percent, the data showed.
The TAIEX on Friday closed up 1.88 percent at 23,487.27. The index has risen 30.99 percent since the beginning of the year, with TWSE’s market capitalization rising to NT$75.09 trillion, the first time it has risen above the NT$75 trillion mark in three months, the exchange said.
The TAIEX’s strong showing was mainly driven by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), which is the most heavily weighted stock on the market and has surged 82.97 percent this year, closing at a record high of NT$1,085 on Friday, exchange data showed.
When an apartment comes up for rent in Germany’s big cities, hundreds of prospective tenants often queue down the street to view it, but the acute shortage of affordable housing is getting scant attention ahead of today’s snap general election. “Housing is one of the main problems for people, but nobody talks about it, nobody takes it seriously,” said Andreas Ibel, president of Build Europe, an association representing housing developers. Migration and the sluggish economy top the list of voters’ concerns, but analysts say housing policy fails to break through as returns on investment take time to register, making the
‘SILVER LINING’: Although the news caused TSMC to fall on the local market, an analyst said that as tariffs are not set to go into effect until April, there is still time for negotiations US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he would likely impose tariffs on semiconductor, automobile and pharmaceutical imports of about 25 percent, with an announcement coming as soon as April 2 in a move that would represent a dramatic widening of the US leader’s trade war. “I probably will tell you that on April 2, but it’ll be in the neighborhood of 25 percent,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club when asked about his plan for auto tariffs. Asked about similar levies on pharmaceutical drugs and semiconductors, the president said that “it’ll be 25 percent and higher, and it’ll
CHIP BOOM: Revenue for the semiconductor industry is set to reach US$1 trillion by 2032, opening up opportunities for the chip pacakging and testing company, it said ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控), the world’s largest provider of outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) services, yesterday launched a new advanced manufacturing facility in Penang, Malaysia, aiming to meet growing demand for emerging technologies such as generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The US$300 million facility is a critical step in expanding ASE’s global footprint, offering an alternative for customers from the US, Europe, Japan, South Korea and China to assemble and test chips outside of Taiwan amid efforts to diversify supply chains. The plant, the company’s fifth in Malaysia, is part of a strategic expansion plan that would more than triple
Taiwanese artificial intelligence (AI) server makers are expected to make major investments in Texas in May after US President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office and amid his rising tariff threats, Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association (TEEMA, 台灣電子電機公會) chairman Richard Lee (李詩欽) said yesterday. The association led a delegation of seven AI server manufacturers to Washington, as well as the US states of California, Texas and New Mexico, to discuss land and tax issues, as Taiwanese firms speed up their production plans in the US with many of them seeing Texas as their top option for investment, Lee said. The
RSS