Taiwan shares end up after hitting historical intraday high

Taipei, Jan. 12 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan closed higher Monday after reaching a historical intraday high on buying sparked by the gains posted in the United States at the end of last week, analysts said.

The Taiex, the Taiwan Stock Exchange's benchmark index, ended up 278.33 points, or 0.92 percent, at 30,567.29 after moving between 30,472.70 and 30,681.99. Turnover totaled NT$602.92 billion (US$19.04 billion), compared with NT$704.37 billion on Friday.

"The market came off the day's high on profit-taking late in the session as investors turned cautious ahead of the anticipated U.S. Supreme Court ruling on (Donald) Trump's sweeping tariffs, expected Wednesday (U.S. time)," Hua Nan Securities analyst Kevin Su said.

Taiwan currently faces a 20 percent across-the-board tariff on goods it exports to the United States, though some goods are exempt from tariffs through previous arrangements and agreements.

Affected by last-ditch selling, contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), which accounts for over 40 percent of the market's total value, rose 0.60 percent to close at NT$1,690.00 on Monday and was a primary driver of the Taiex's gains.

AI server maker and iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. lost 0.87 percent to end at NT$228.50, and Quanta Computer Inc., another AI server supplier, slid 0.88 percent to close at NT$280.50.

"When buying in these large cap tech stocks waned, turnover shrank due to the cautious atmosphere," Su said.

Memory chip suppliers continued to benefit, however, from product price hikes in a tight market, with Nanya Technology Corp. surging 10 percent, the maximum daily increase, to close at NT$239.00 and Winbond Electronics Corp. rising 4.29 percent to end at NT$102.00.

Flat panel maker Innolux Corp. soared 10 percent to close at NT$22.00 on orders it secured for its fan-out panel level packaging (FOPLP) services, and rival AUO Corp. also gained 5.52 percent to end at NT$15.30.

Su said buying also rotated to select non-tech stocks as some funds were diverted from TSMC.

Asia Cement Corp. rose 1.08 percent to close at NT$27.50, and rival TCC Group Holdings Co. gained 5.50 percent to end at NT$24.93. In addition, China Airlines added 1.47 percent to close at NT$20.75 and EVA Airways ended up 1.50 percent at NT$37.10.

In the financial sector, which lost 0.25 percent, Fubon Financial Holding Co. fell 0.52 percent to close at NT$95.00, while Cathay Financial Holding Co. rose 0.26 percent to end at NT$76.10.

"Before the U.S. Supreme Court announces its decision, investors should keep a close eye on the U.S. inflation figure for December due out on Tuesday (U.S. time) for more of an indication of how the Federal Reserve will handle interest rates," Su said.

Despite the Taiex's gains, foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$12.17 billion in shares on the market Monday, according to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.