Taiwan shares rebound on postponed U.S. tariff actions

Taipei, Feb. 4 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan staged a technical rebound Tuesday as U.S. President Donald Trump postponed tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada for one month, but gains were capped ahead of 23,000 points, dealers said.

After plunging 3.53 percent a session earlier, the Taiex, the weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), ended up 99.25 points, or 0.44 percent, at 22,793.96 after moving between 22,720,62 and 22,934.31. Turnover totaled NT$408.99 billion (US$12.39 billion).

The market opened up 0.62 percent and buying increased to push the Taiex to the day's high in the early morning session.

Led by the electronics sector, investors appeared relieved by Trump's move to delay a tariff of 25 percent against Mexico and Canada for one month, dealers said.

But with the Taiex moving closer to 23,000 points, some investors shifted to the sell side, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) sustained most of its earlier gains to prevent the broader market from heading south, dealers added.

TSMC, the local market's most heavily weighted stock, rose 2.34 percent to close at NT$1,095.00 after hitting a high of NT$1,100.00. TSMC's gains represented about 200 points to the Taiex's rise and sent the electronics index up 0.98 percent.

"Today's movement showed many investors stayed cautious about Trump's policies," Mega International Investment Services Corp. analyst Alex Huang said. "Despite the postponement of the tariffs on Mexico and Canada, in the era of an unpredictable Trump, investors simply wanted to wait."

Thanks to TSMC, Huang said, the Taiex closed above the previous close Tuesday, while many tech stocks saw their earlier gains eroded.

Smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc. lost 0.67 percent to end at NT$1,490.00, and IC packaging and testing services provider ASE Technology Holding Co. fell 2.17 percent to close at NT$157.50.

But, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designer Alchip Technologies Ltd. soared 10 percent, the maximum daily increase, to end at NT$3,245.00 as the stock was named by some analysts as a beneficiary of the emergency of China's AI startup DeepSeek.

Also in the tech sector, iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. lost 0.30 percent to close at NT$165.00, and Quanta Computer Inc., another contract electronics maker, shed 3.29 percent to end at NT$235.00.

Many old economy stocks moved in weakness to limit the upturn on the Taiex, Huang said.

Among them, Chia Hsin Cement Corp. lost 2.03 percent to close at NT$16.85, and TCC Group Holdings Co., another major cement supplier, dropped 1.57 percent to end at NT$31.25. In addition, Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp. shed 3.79 percent to close at NT$26.65, and Formosa Petrochemical Corp. ended down 3.35 percent at NT$33.20.

In the financial sector, which lost 0.67 percent, Cathay Financial Holding Co. fell 1.21 percent to close at NT$65.20, and Fubon Financial Holding Co. shed 1.20 percent to end at NT$90.30.

"Market sentiment stayed cautious as investors kept alert over Trump's threats of massive tariffs on chips," Huang said. "Investors had better keep more cash on hand now."

Despite the Taiex's rebound, foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$15.19 billion worth of shares on the main board Tuesday, according to the TWSE.