BIG HIT: The TAIEX was the worst performer among regional markets, as TSMC has a heavy weighting and a US ban on chip exports to China has cast a shadowBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter
The TAIEX yesterday recovered from an early sell-off to close moderately higher as the bellwether electronics sector staged a technical rebound led by contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), dealers said.
Investors were worried about the possibility of the US Federal Reserve raising interest rates and reducing its balance sheet, but the rebound was limited by fears of holding shares to avoid losses from negative leads during the Lunar New Year holiday, they said.
Helped by bargain hunting, major shipping stocks rebounded, while some petrochemical stocks received a boost from a spike in crude oil prices amid growing tensions in
Market watchers said they were positive about the performance of local equities after all four referendum items were on Saturday rejected by a narrow margin, which helped clear uncertainty in the market over the government’s economic policies.
Although President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration would be able to continue its policies on pork imports and energy transition following the vote, stock market movement still depends on corporate earnings and the nation’s economic fundamentals, analysts said.
Despite a low turnout, voters rejected four referendum questions which asked whether to ban imports of pork containing traces of the leanness-enhancing additive ractopamine, relocate a liquefied natural
The TAIEX yesterday closed above 16,700 points, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker.
The benchmark index closed up 393.91 points, or 2.40 percent, at the day’s high of 16,781.19. Turnover was NT$283.979 billion (US$10.13 billion).
The market drew support from strong buying of technology stocks, after TSMC posted a higher-than-expected profit in the third quarter and upgraded its outlook at an investor conference on Thursday.
All of the major stock categories, except the textiles sector, gained ground, with mechanical and electronics shares scoring the highest gains.
Semiconductor shares accounted for nearly 40 percent of total turnover, while