TSMC, MediaTek lead rebound on Taiwan stock market

Taipei, Aug. 6 (CNA) Two large cap semiconductor stocks rebounded Tuesday morning after plummeting the previous two sessions on panic selling, helping Taiwan's broader market bounce back amid global volatility, dealers said.

As of 11:32 a.m., contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the most heavily weighted stock in the local market, had gained 7.61 percent to NT$877.00 (US$26.82) after a plunge of about 15 percent the previous two sessions.

Smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc. had risen 8.98 percent to NT$1,080.00 after a slide of more than 16 percent in the previous two sessions. The stock opened up 10 percent, the maximum upper limit, to hit NT$1,090.00, before retreating slightly.

"Technically speaking, the fall in the two previous sessions paved the way for today's rebound," equity analyst Andy Hsu said. "The tech sector was boosted by the two semiconductor stocks."

Also driving the gains in the spot market Tuesday morning, according to Hsu, was a 4.38 percent rise to 20,223 in the Taiex futures market overnight.

As of 11:32 a.m., the Taiex, the Taiwan Stock Exchange's benchmark weighted index, had risen 634.24 points, or 3.20 percent, to 20,465.12 after falling 2,811.22 points, or 12.42 percent, in the two previous sessions.

The gains posted by TSMC and MediaTek sent the electronics index and semiconductor sub-index higher by 4.34 percent and 6.33 percent, respectively.

"But the Taiex's gains were capped after hitting an early high, indicating that the market still needs some time to consolidate," Hsu said.

Hsu said the limited gains reflected stiff technical resistance ahead of 20,982 points, the intraday high seen Monday.

Bucking the upturn, iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry, second to TSMC in terms of market value, remained unchanged at NT$168.00 as of 11:32 a.m. The stock had plunged about 17 percent in the previous two sessions.