Taiwan shares end up as buying rotates to non-tech sector

Taipei, May 16 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan closed higher on Friday as rotational buying in the non-tech sector lent support to the broader market, dealers said, but many major electronics stocks, except Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) weakened due to profit-taking.

The Taiex, the weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), ended up 113.44 points, or 0.52 percent, at 21,843.69, moving between 21,697.85 and 21,854.50. Turnover totaled NT$342.74 billion (US$11.37 billion).

"The bellwether electronics sector has driven the recent rebound in the Taiex, but today large cap non tech stocks, in particular in the transportation industry and financial sector stole the spotlight riding rotational buying," Concord Securities analyst Kerry Huang said, adding that the movement simply mirrored U.S. markets overnight.

The transportation index rose 4.52 percent with Evergreen Marine Corp., the largest container cargo shipper in Taiwan, rising 6.11 percent to close at NT$260.50, and rival Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. gaining 5.66 percent to end at NT$84.00.

Wan Hai Lines Ltd. soared 10 percent, the maximum daily increases, to close at NT$111.00.

"These shipping stocks continued to steam ahead in the wake of a sharp increase in demand for cargo space after the United States and China agreed last week to cut tariffs substantially for an initial 90 days," Huang said.

Also benefiting from rotational buying in the old economy sector, Shihlin Paper Corp. surged 10 percent to close at NT$57.60 and Chung Hwa Pulp Corp. rose 4.36 percent to end at NT$14.35.

In the financial sector, which added 1.55 percent on high dividend yields, Cathay Financial Holding Co. rose 5.70 percent to close at NT$63.00, and Fubon Financial Holding Co. gained 1.74 percent to end at NT$81.90.

"With investors pocketing recent gains built from big electronics stocks, the silver lining was that TSMC saw last ditch buying to recoup earlier losses," Huang said.

TSMC, the most heavily weighted local stock, rose 0.50 percent to close at the day's high of NT$998.00, off a low of NT$989.00 but the stock remains below the psychological NT$1,000 mark.

Among other semiconductor stocks, IC packaging and testing services provider ASE Technology Holding Co. lost 2.33 percent to end at NT$147.00, and smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc. fell 0.36 percent to close at NT$1,365.00.

Bucking the downtrend, United Microelectronics Corp., a smaller contract chipmaker than TSMC, rose 0.63 percent to close at NT$47.80.

After artificial intelligence chip designer Nvidia Corp. lost 0.35 percent in the United States overnight, iPhone assembler and AI server maker Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. dropped 0.94 percent to close at NT$158.00, and Quanta Computer Inc., another AI server supplier, fell 0.90 percent to end at NT$275.00.

Wistron Corp., which also rolls out AI servers, lost 0.45 percent to close at NT$111.00, and AI graphics card vendor Giga-Byte Technology Co. slid 1.88 percent to end at NT$260.50.

"Technically speaking, while the trend of rebounding from a recent low (on April 9) due to interruptions by U.S. tariff policies is expected to continue, the Taiex could see stiff technical resistance ahead of 22,148 points, the 120-day moving average," Huang said.

According to the TWSE, foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$15.71 billion worth of shares on the main board Friday.