Taiex soars 30% in Year of the Dragon; TSMC surges over 75%

Taipei, Jan. 22 (CNA) The Taiex ended the Year of the Dragon on Wednesday up about 30 percent, led by contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC).

The Taiex, the Taiwan Stock Exchange's benchmark weighted index, closed up 225.40 points, or 0.97 percent, at 23,525.41 on Wednesday, the last trading session in the Year of the Dragon before the Lunar New Year holiday ushers in the Year of the Snake.

Between Feb. 10, 2024, and Jan. 28, 2025, the Taiex rose 5,429.34 points, the highest ever for any Chinese zodiac year in history; and the 30 percent increase was the second highest ever, behind only the 30.84 percent gains in the Year of the Rat from Jan. 25, 2020, to Feb. 11, 2021.

Trading in Taiwan is set to resume on Feb. 3, the sixth day of the first month of the Year of the Snake.

During the Year of the Dragon, the exchange's market capitalization rose by more than NT$18 trillion (US$547 billion) to NT$75.53 trillion, an average of about NT$1.36 million for each of the 13.21 million investors in the market as of the end of 2024.

TSMC, which closed at NT$646.00 at the end of the Year of Rabbit, soared 75.6 percent to NT$1,135.00 in the Year of the Dragon, and its market cap rose by NT$12.68 trillion, accounting for about 70 percent of the exchange's total market cap growth.

The company has forecast its sales for 2025 to rise 24-26 percent in U.S. dollar terms, which would far exceed the 10 percent growth that has been estimated for the global semiconductor sector.

Led by TSMC, the Taiex breached the 20,000-point mark for the first time on March 8, 2024, and hit a historical intraday high of 24,416.67 on July 11.

Yeh Hsien-wen (葉獻文), a fund manager at Schroders, said that while the Taiex's valuation had risen substantially, it still remained fair.

TSMC's American depositary receipts (ADRs) are trading at a growing premium over the stock in Taiwan, Yeh said, reflecting the confidence foreign institutional investors have in Taiwan's semiconductor industry.

Foreign fund inflows are also expected to continue supporting the Taiex and help it set new records.

Tony Huang (黃文清), an analyst with Taishin Securities Investment Advisory, said that during the holiday, investors should monitor whether U.S. President Donald Trump imposes new tariffs on China and the earnings reports of U.S. companies, especially tech giants.