Taiwan shares soar over 600 points as TSMC hits new high

Taipei, Jan. 6 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan moved sharply higher by more than 600 points Monday as contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) attracted strong buying to close at a new high in the wake of a rally among tech stocks on the U.S. markets at the end of last week, dealers said.

The Taiex, the weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), ended up 639.41 points, or 2.79 percent, at 23,547.41 after moving between 23,131.79 and 23,553.29. Turnover totaled NT$406.48 billion (US$12.36 billion).

The market opened up 0.98 percent and momentum accelerated into the end of the session with TSMC and other electronics heavyweights in focus as buying was sparked by a 1.77 percent increase on the tech-heavy Nasdaq index ahead of the opening of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

TSMC, the most heavily stock in the local market, rose 4.56 percent to close at a new high of NT$1,125.00. Its gains contributed about 400 points to the Taiex rise and sent the electronics index higher by 3.42 percent.

"Many investors at home and abroad have highly anticipated (U.S.-based artificial intelligence chip designer) Nvidia will give positive leads at CES," MasterLink Securities analyst Tom Tang said, referring to a keynote speech planned by Nvidia CEO Jenseng Huang at the tech event.

"So, after the strong showing among tech stocks on the U.S. markets Friday, large-cap electronics stocks in Taiwan just followed suit, led by TSMC," Tang said.

Buying spread to other semiconductor stocks with smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc. up 4.40 percent to end at NT$1,425.00, IC packaging and testing services provider ASE Technology Holding Co. up 3.11 percent to close at NT$116.00, and Global Unichip Corp., TSMC's application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design subsidiary, up 5.51 percent to end at NT$1,340.00.

iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., which also rolls out AI servers, rose 1.93 percent to close at NT$184.50, and Quanta Computer Inc., another AI server maker, added 1.73 percent to end at NT$294.00.

According to the TWSE, foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$50.01 billion worth of shares on the main board Monday, when turnover beat the average of NT$320 billion in the previous 10 sessions.

Among nontech stocks, Formosa Plastics Corp. rose 5.07 percent to close at NT$36.25 and Nan Ya Plastics Corp. gained 5.75 percent to end at NT$31.25 after bouncing back from their recent doldrums.

Elsewhere in the old economy sector, China Steel Corp., the largest steel maker in Taiwan, rose 1.58 percent to close at NT$19.30, and textile brand Far Eastern New Century Corp. ended up 1.42 percent at NT$32.10.

In the financial sector, which rose 1.20 percent, Cathay Financial Holding Co. rose 1.47 percent to close at NT$68.80, and Fubon Financial Holding Co. ended up 0.88 percent at NT$91.90.