Taiwan shares end up led by tech sector

Taipei, Sept. 23 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan closed up Monday, extending momentum from a session earlier as the bellwether electronics sector continued to lead the broader market higher, dealers said.

However, turnover failed to expand significantly, with many investors preferring to stay on the sidelines amid fears of U.S. market volatility in the lead-up to the United States' presidential election in November, dealers added.

The Taiex, the Taiwan Stock Exchange's (TWSE) weighted index, ended up 126.11 points, or 0.57 percent, at 22,285.53 after moving between 22,170.94 and 22,307.46. Turnover totaled NT$300.99 billion (US$9.41 billion).

The market opened up 11.52 points before rising a further 148.04 points in the early morning session to reach the day's high as local investors shrugged off a lackluster Friday for the U.S.' Dow Jones Industrial Average (up 0.09 percent) and tech-heavy Nasdaq (down 0.36 percent).

With the Taiex moving closer to the nearest technical resistance ahead of the 60-day moving average of 22,322 points, the main board closed near the day's high after last-ditch buying in large-cap tech stocks, including contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the top two stocks in terms of market value.

"Turnover remained moderately thin and it was unable to create big swings in the Taiex," MasterLink Securities analyst Tom Tang said.

"Despite the gains, the local main board fluctuated in consolidation mode amid uncertainties ahead of the [U.S.] presidential vote.

"Moreover, technically speaking, the Taiex's upturn was limited ahead of the 60-day moving average," Tang said.

Thanks to buying in the last few minutes of trading, the electronics sector continued to anchor the main board, with TSMC rising 0.41 percent to close at the day's high of NT$977.00.

"TSMC remained stable and technically healthy driven by investor optimism that artificial intelligence (AI) development will boost the company's bottom line," Tang said.

Among other semiconductor heavyweights, smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc. rose 1.78 percent to end at NT$114.50, and IC packaging and testing services provider ASE Technology Holding Co. gained 1.62 percent to close at NT$157.00.

Despite the upturn, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designer Alchip Technologies, Ltd. lost 1.08 percent to end at NT$2,300.00.

Hon Hai, a maker of AI servers, gained 1.69 percent to end at NT$180.00 after playing catch-up with TSMC on its relatively low valuation, Tang said.

Bargain hunters also poured funds into other AI-related stocks, with Quanta Computer Inc., another AI server maker, gaining 1.78 percent to close at NT$257.00, and leading AI graphics card vendor Giga-Byte Technology Co. closing up 2.75 percent at NT$262.00.

Led by TSMC and other big tech stocks, the electronics index rose 0.67 percent, while the semiconductor subindex also climbed 0.59 percent.

While the tech sector attracted most of the market attention, it was a mixed trading day for most non-tech stocks, Tang said.

The construction index, which lost 6.26 percent on Friday, plunged an additional 2.95 percent on Monday, as the central bank's imposition of a seventh round of selective credit controls to rein in property prices continued to reverberate.

"The latest credit controls [introduced at a quarterly policymaking meeting on Thursday] were a shock to the property market. It is possible that transactions will shrink with home prices likely to be capped to some extent in the fourth quarter," Tang said.

Among the falling property stocks, Hsin Ba Ba Corp. tumbled 10 percent, the maximum daily decline, to close at NT$145.50, JSL Construction & Development Co. shed 8.97 percent to end at NT$106.50, and King's Town Construction Co. lost 5.00 percent to close at NT$104.50.

However, Kindom Development Co. rose 0.84 percent to end at NT$48.00, with Tang citing relatively sound fundamentals for the firm's resilience.

In the transportation index, which rose 1.51 percent on expectations that a strike threatened by port workers on the U.S.' east coast will boost freight rates, Evergreen Marine Corp., the largest container cargo shipper in Taiwan, rose 3.17 percent to close at NT$195.00.

Evergreen Marine's rivals, Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. and Wan Hai Lines Ltd., gained 1.42 percent and 1.73 percent to end at NT$64.50 and NT$82.50, respectively.

Elsewhere in the old economy sector, Formosa Plastics Corp. closed unchanged at NT$48.75, while Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp. lost 0.97 percent to end at NT$40.80.

The financial sector rose 0.94 percent as CTBC Financial Holding Co. gained 3.97 percent to close at NT$35.35 after the company dropped a tender offer plan Friday to acquire Shin Kong Financial Holding Co., which ended down 3.27 percent to end at NT$11.85.

Taishin Financial Holding Co., which had previously competed with CTBC Financial to buy Shin Kong Financial, rose 0.27 percent to close at NT$18.30.

"Local investors have been the major players in the local stock market recently, while many foreign institutional investors stayed on the sidelines by taking into account the presidential vote," Tang said. "It is possible turnover will continue to be capped."

According to the TWSE, foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$11.59 billion worth of shares on the main board Monday.