The TAIEX yesterday rose 0.2 percent to close at 14,777.02 points after falling in the two previous sessions amid rising tensions across the Taiwan Strait.
However, turnover fell to NT$174.809 billion (US$5.83 billion), as most investors retreated to the sidelines amid US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.
Foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$6.12 billion of shares on the main board, compared with NT$19.66 billion net sold on Tuesday, Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) data showed.
“Political issues were the main reason why transaction shrank lately,” Hua Nan Securities Investment Management Co (華南投顧) chairman David Chu (儲祥生) said by telephone.
The TAIEX edged up 0.28 percent to close at 18,270.51 points on the first trading session of the year, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電).
The benchmark index hit an intra-session high at 18,379.69 points after about 30 minutes of trading. It gradually slid to close at a record-high 18,270.51 points, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
Turnover totaled NT$325.128 billion (US$11.77 billion) on the main board, up 23.5 percent from NT$263.167 billion on Thursday, the last trading session of last year, the data showed.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers for the ninth consecutive session at NT$15.52 billion, while local securities
TAIEX rises despite local outbreak as shares of container shippers climb
SURGE: Transactions in the shipping sub-index made up 37 percent of all transactions, which an investor said indicated a shaky structure of market participants
By Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporter
The TAIEX yesterday gained 0.22 percent to 16,338.29 points, despite rising numbers of locally transmitted COVID-19 cases in the nation over the weekend.
“The surging cases weighed on the stock market, but it was offset by investors’ passion for container shipping stocks, given strong freight rates and local shippers’ rosy profits last quarter,” Hua Nan Securities Investment Management Co (華南投顧) chairman David Chu (儲祥生) said by telephone.