Taiwan shares end higher after day of light trading

Taipei, Dec. 25 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan closed higher Wednesday on the back of a rally in the United States overnight, but turnover shrank further as many foreign institutional investors spent Christmas Day off the trading floor, dealers said.

The Taiex, the weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), ended up 99.89 points, or 0.43 percent, at 23,220.13 after moving between 23,159.36 and 23,296.36. Turnover totaled NT$305.71 billion (US$9.35 billion), down from NT$347.26 billion Tuesday.

"Look at the thin turnover. The local market was quiet with many foreign institutional investors absent from the market," equity market analyst Andy Hsu said.

Wednesday's turnover was below the average of NT$375.50 billion in the previous five trading sessions.

"So, it was not easy for the Taiex to break the current narrow swing as TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.) failed to sustain all of its earlier gains," Hsu said. "But TSMC still served as an anchor to stabilize the broader market."

Contract chipmaker TSMC, the most heavily weighted stock in the local market, rose 0.46 percent to close at NT$1,085.00, off a high of NT$1,090.00. The stock contributed about 80 points to the Taiex's rise, and sent the electronics index higher by 0.62 percent.

Among other tech heavyweights, gains of which were also limited, smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc. rose 0.36 percent to end at NT$1,410.00, and IC packaging and testing services provider ASE Technology Holding Co. gained 0.61 percent to close at NT$165.50.

iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., second to TSMC in terms of market value, ended up 0.54 percent at NT$186.50.

"Local investors stayed active, parking their funds in smaller cap stocks," Hsu said. "Today, they focused on battery backup solution (BBU) providers and robotics-related firms, although the weighting was much smaller.

Among the active BBU stocks, Advanced Energy Solution Holding Co. soared 10 percent, the maximum daily increase, to close at NT$1,075.00. On the over-the-counter (OTC) market, Dynapack International Technology Corp., another BBU-related stock, surged 10 percent to end at NT$205.50.

In the robotics-related industry, Asia Optical Co. jumped 10 percent to close at NT$185.00, and Ability Enterprise Co. also moved higher by 10 percent to end at NT$70.10.

Nontech stocks appeared mixed as the electronics sector drew much of the market attention, dealers said.

In the old economy sector, food brand Uni-President Enterprises Corp. rose 0.48 percent to close at NT$83.80, while rival Taisun Enterprise Co. lost 0.25 percent to end at NT$19.95. In addition, Eclat Textile Co. fell 0.20 percent to close at NT$506.00, but Far Eastern New Century Corp., another textile supplier, ended up 1.26 percent at NT$31.35.

With the financial sector down 0.35 percent, Fubon Financial Holding Co. lost 0.33 percent to close at NT$91.50, and Cathay Financial Holding Co. dropped 0.29 percent to end at NT$68.70.

"The Taiex trade is expected to remain light into the end of this year before foreign institutional investors return to the market," Hsu said. "Caution toward [Donald] Trump's possible tariff hikes could also affect market movement."

According to the TWSE, foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$11.12 billion worth of shares on the main board Wednesday.