Taiwan shares edge up as TSMC falls back from new high

Taipei, Aug. 8 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan closed slightly higher Friday as contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) entered consolidation, falling back from a new closing high a session earlier, with buying rotating to other tech hardware manufacturers and lending support to the broader market, dealers said.

The Taiex, the weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), ended up 17.49 points, or 0.07 percent, at 24,021.26 after moving between 23,967.99 and 24,131.46. Turnover totaled NT$420.58 billion (US$14.08 billion).

On follow-though buying from a session earlier, when the Taiex soared 556 points, or 2.37 percent, the main board moved ahead to the day's high, rising almost 130 points in the early morning session before some investors shifted to the sell side to pocket gains, in particular from TSMC, capping the upturn by the end of the session, dealers said.

"TSMC's strong showing yesterday simply came as investors expect the chipmaker to secure an exemption from a 100 percent tariff on semiconductors planned by the Trump administration due to the company's massive investments in the United States," Concord Asset Management analyst Lu Chin-wei said.

"It was no surprise that the stock entered consolidation mode today affecting the Taiex's performance but it was largely technical in nature," Lu said, adding many investors also waited for the chipmaker's July sales data due after the market's close.

After surging 4.89 percent Thursday, TSMC, the most heavily weighted stock in Taiwan, fell 0.42 percent Friday to close at NT$1,175.00, off an earlier high of 1,185.00. TSMC's fall from the day's high cost the Taiex about 80 points.

Among other semiconductor stocks, TSMC's application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design subsidiary Global Unichip Corp. shed 3.91 percent to end at NT$1,230.00 and TSMC's IC assembly equipment supplier Scientech Corp. dropped 0.94 percent to close at NT$369.50. However, IC packaging and testing services provider ASE Technology Holding Co. ended up 0.68 percent at NT$149.00.

"Fortunately, rotating buying remained in place to benefit other tech hardware makers, in particular among electronic component manufacturers," Lu said.

Power management solution supplier Delta Electronics Inc. rose 2.25 percent to close at NT$637.00, and printed circuit board maker Gold Circuit Electronics Ltd. jumped 10 percent, the maximum daily increase, to end at NT$409.00.

"With the tech sector still accounting for more than 70 percent of total turnover, old economy stocks were largely left behind," Lu said.

In the old economy sector, Formosa Plastics Corp. lost 1.70 percent to close at NT$37.55, and Nan Ya Plastics Corp. dropped 0.94 percent to end at NT$36.80. In addition, Shihlin Electric & Engineering Corp. fell 0.53 percent to close at NT$186.00, while Fortune Electric Co. gained 1.05 percent to end at NT$676.00.

The financial sector rose 0.1 percent with Fubon Financial Holding Co. up 0.47 percent to close at NT$85.20, and Cathay Financial Holding Co. up 0.48 percent to end at NT$63.20. In contrast, Yuanta Financial Holding Co. shed 1.21 percent to close at NT$32.75.

"The U.S. markets are expected to continue to dictate movements on the Taiex so investors need to pay close attention to U.S. economic data for more clues about economic fundamentals," Lu said, referring to U.S. inflation and retail sales data due next week.

According to the TWSE, foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$3.26 billion worth of shares on the main board Friday.