TWSE market cap returns to NT$75 trillion after TSMC-led rally

Taipei, Oct. 19 (CNA) The Taiwan stock exchange's market capitalization returned to NT$75 trillion level this week after its benchmark index, the Taiex, rallied on gains by contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC).

As of the end of trading Friday, the exchange's market value had risen NT$1.86 trillion from a week earlier to NT$75.09 trillion, the first time it had breached NT$75 trillion in three months.

For the week, the Taiex rose 585.63 points, or 2.56 percent, to close at 23,487.27 on Friday following a strong showing by TSMC, which surged 4.83 percent Friday to end at a high of NT$1,085.00.

TSMC, the most heavily weighted stock on the market, contributed about 400 points to the Taiex's increase and helped the electronics index gain 2.45 percent Friday.

Cathay Futures Consultant analyst Tsai Ming-han (蔡明翰) said TSMC attracted strong buying Friday after the company revised its 2024 sales growth forecast upwards to almost 30 percent in U.S. dollar terms at its investor conference Thursday.

That was an upgrade from an estimate of a 24-26 percent increase made in July.

In the third quarter, TSMC's net profit hit a new high of NT$325.26 billion, up 31.2 percent from the previous quarter and also up 54.2 percent compared with the same period in 2023.

TSMC Chairman and CEO C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said he expected TSMC's growth momentum to continue for years.

According to Tsai, TSMC's guidance eliminated concerns raised by a lower-than-expected sales forecast for 2025 semiconductor equipment leader ASML Holding NV.

ASML's 2025 sales forecast, which came in at between 30 billion euros (US$32.7 billion) and 35 billion euros, at the low end of a previous estimate, raised concerns that the prospects for the semiconductor sector might not be as strong as previously expected.

According to Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp., foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$56.62 billion in shares Friday, the fifth largely single daily net buy in history after registering a net buy of 34.30 million TSMC shares on the day.

Amid optimism toward AI development, trading volume generated by TSMC hit 91 million shares valued at NT$99.23 billion on Friday, the highest among the stocks trading on the exchange.

In terms of odd lot trading, retail investors appeared keen to pick up TSMC, with trading volume hitting about 4.38 million shares valued at NT$4.77 billion, also the highest on the exchange.

Trading odd lots makes it easier for retail investors to buy high-priced stocks in quantities less than the standard minimum purchase of 1,000 shares.

For the week, the aggregate net buy recorded by foreign institutional investors hit NT$50.45 billion.

Total market turnover was NT$1.87 trillion, with semiconductor shares having the highest turnover at NT$666.98 billion, accounting for 35.54 percent of the total, ahead of NT$254.01 billion in the computer and peripheral industry (13.54 percent).