《TAIPEI TIMES》 TAIEX closes at 30-year high as tech stocks rally

TSMC BOOST: The IC chip maker’s gains contributed about 145 points to the weighted index’s rise and pushed up the electronics sector by 2.83 percent

/ Staff writer, with CNA

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The TAIEX soared by more than 200 points to its highest level in more than 30 years as tech stocks rose sharply after an overnight rally on the NASDAQ.

Buying in bellwether Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co （TSMC, 台積電） helped push the weighted index to close up 223.01 points, or 1.83 percent, at 12,397.55.

That was the highest close since the TAIEX ended at 12,424.53 on Feb. 12, 1990.

Turnover was NT$223.74 billion （US$7.57 billion）, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.

The market opened up 0.56 percent after the tech-heavy NASDAQ rose 2.5 percent on Monday, and momentum accelerated with buying focused on large-cap stocks, dealers said.

“I was a little bit surprised by the magnitude of today’s showing,” Mega International Investment Services Corp （兆豐國際投顧） analyst Alex Huang （黃國偉） said.

“With the market awash in liquidity, many investors rushed to park their money in stocks, pushing the TAIEX sharply higher,” Huang said.

Investors continued to favor TSMC after its forecast last week of a more than 20 percent sequential increase in sales for this year, Huang said.

“I think foreign institutional investors largely stood on the buy side today,” he said.

Foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$12.64 billion in shares, the exchange said.

TSMC rose 4.64 percent to close at NT$383 and the gains lifted its market capitalization by about NT$440 billion to NT$9.93 trillion. Its gains alone contributed to an increase of about 145 points in the TAIEX and pushed up the electronics sector by 2.83 percent.

Smartphone camera lens supplier Largan Precision Co （大立光） added 2 percent to end at NT$4,090, United Microelectronics Corp （聯電） rose 3.63 percent to NT$17.15 and chip designer MediaTek Inc （聯發科） gained 5.99 percent to NT$637.

Bucking the upturn, iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co （鴻海精密） fell 1.73 percent to close at NT$85.30 amid rising fears over competition for iPhone orders from China-based Luxshare Precision Industry Co （立訊精密）.

While the electronics sector surged, non-tech stocks largely closed mixed.

Among old economy stocks, food brand Uni-President Enterprises Corp （統一企業） fell 0.69 percent to end at NT$72.10, China Steel Corp （中鋼） shed 0.96 percent to close at NT$20.60, Formosa Plastics Corp （台塑） ended unchanged at NT$80.5 and Shihlin Paper Corp （士林紙業） rose 2.28 percent to close at NT$80.80.

In the financial sector, which rose 0.2 percent, Mega Financial Holding Co （兆豐金控） edged up 0.31 percent to NT$32.55, while Fubon Financial Holding Co （富邦金控） fell 0.35 percent to NT$42.50.

“Given high market valuations, investors should be alert to a possible technical correction,” Huang said. “In particular, an ongoing earnings season at home and on Wall Street could affect market sentiment.”

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES