Taiwan shares up as TSMC boosted by last-ditch buying

Taipei, Feb. 18 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan closed higher Tuesday after contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) got a boost from last-ditch buying, dealers said.

The Taiex, the weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), ended up 160.78 points, or 0.68 percent, at the day's high of 23,666.11 after coming off a low of 23,454.09.

Turnover totaled NT$330.79 billion (US$10.09 billion), compared with NT$371.89 billion a session earlier.

The market opened 0.20 percent up and moved in a narrow range for most of the remaining session before buying set in in the last few minutes with TSMC in focus, pushing the broader market to the day's high, dealers said.

However, turnover was limited, with many investors waiting for U.S. President Donald Trump's decision regarding semiconductor tariffs on Taiwan, dealers added.

TSMC's gains suggest some investors are guessing there will be a negotiation period before any tariffs on semiconductors are imposed, said Mega International Investment Services analyst Alex Huang.

TSMC, the most heavily weighted stock in the local market, rose 1.38 percent to close at the day's high of NT$1,100.00. TSMC's gains contributed about 120 points to the Taiex rise and sent the electronics index 1 percent higher.

Among other semiconductor stocks, IC packaging and testing services provider ASE Technology Holding Co. rose 0.56 percent to end at NT$179.00, while smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc. fell 0.65 percent to close at NT$1,535.00.

Second to TSMC in terms of market value, iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., which also rolls out AI servers, added 0.55 percent to end at NT$183.50, and Quanta Computer Inc., another AI server supplier, gained 1.54 percent to close at NT$264.50. In addition, AI graphics card vendor Giga-Byte Technology Co. ended up 2.49 percent at NT$267.50.

Huang said old economy industries had a mixed performance.

Formosa Plastics Corp. lost 2.79 percent to close at NT$38.35, Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp. dropped 2.56 percent to end at NT$28.55, Formosa Petrochemical Corp. fell 2.18 percent to close at NT$38.20, and Nan Ya Plastics Corp. ended down 1.20 percent at NT$33.00.

Elsewhere in the old economy sector, Fortune Electric Co. gained 1.13 percent to close at NT$537.00, and Shihlin Electric & Engineering Corp. ended up 0.82 percent at NT$183.50.

In the financial sector, which rose 0.29 percent, Fubon Financial Holding Co. rose 0.32 percent to close at NT$94.30, and Cathay Financial Holding Co. added 0.29 percent to end at NT$69.20.

"Despite the gains, turnover remained low as many investors stayed cautious," Huang said. "More trade will likely not be seen until Trump's announcement regarding tariffs on semiconductors, expected to take place in the U.S. on Tuesday."

According to the TWSE, foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$8.17 billion worth of shares on the main board Tuesday.