Taiwan shares soar over 28% in 2024, but year ends on down note

Taipei, Dec. 31 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan surged more than 28 percent in 2024, but the market fell slightly on the last day of the year following the losses seen on markets in the United States overnight.

The Taiex, the Taiwan Stock Exchange's benchmark weighted index, ended down 0.67 percent on Tuesday, at 23,035.1 after moving between 22,972.99 and 23,123.96. Turnover totaled NT$268.55 billion (US$8.19 billion).

Though the Taiex slid after the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.97 percent and the Nasdaq index tumbled 1.19 percent overnight, it remained above the nearest technical support level at around 23,004 points, the 60-day moving average.

Liu Yu-heng (劉宇衡), the manager of the Taishin High Dividend Yield Balanced Fund, said Taiwan's market followed U.S. markets downward amid uncertainties over President-elect Donald Trump's policies and Federal Reserve interest rate moves.

During the 242 trading sessions in 2024, the Taiex rose by 5,104.29 points, or 28.47 percent.

It was the highest point gain in a single year, topping the previous record-setter of 4,505.07 in 1989, and the percentage gain was the highest since 2009, when the index jumped 78.34 percent.

The Taiex's percentage gain was the second highest in the world, trailing only the tech-heavy Nasdaq index, which rose more than 30 percent this year.

As of the end of 2024, the Taiwan Stock Exchange's market capitalization hit a new high of NT$99.72 trillion (US$3.04 trillion), smashing the previous high of NT$95.52 trillion at the end of 2021.

Based on the increase of NT$7 trillion in market cap in 2024, investors on the main board each earned almost NT$1.3 million in the year. According to the TWSE, about 13.18 million investors were registered in the local stock market at the end of November.

Dealers said the Taiex's gains were largely driven by contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the most heavily weighted stock in the local market, amid growing optimism over artificial intelligence applications and the company's strong bottom line.

TSMC shares surged 81.28 percent in 2024 to close at NT$1,075.00, although the stock fell 1.38 percent Tuesday, after a 0.61 percent retreat on its American depositary receipts (ADRs) overnight.

Due to its significant share price gains, TSMC saw its market cap rise by NT$12.5 trillion from a year earlier, and it contributed more than 3,800 points to the Taiex's gains in 2024.

Second to TSMC in terms of market cap, iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. also helped drive the Taiex's gains in 2024, dealers said.

Hon Hai shares soared 76.08 percent in 2024 to close at NT$184.00 as investors were bullish on its AI server and electric vehicle initiatives, dealers said.

Liu said the forward looking new orders index in the U.S., measuring manufacturing activity, returned to expansion in November, indicating the U.S. economy remained solid, which could help Taiwanese companies in the global supply chain.

But after the Taiex posted strong gains in 2024, it could face some volatility in early 2025, Liu cautioned.

To offset the technical impact, Liu suggested that investors park their funds in stocks with relatively high dividend yields.