Taiwan shares end at new record high above 32,000 point mark

Taipei, Jan. 26 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan smashed closing records to breach the 32,000-point mark Monday as buying rotated to the old economy sector, dealers said.

The Taiex, the Taiwan Stock Exchange's (TWSE) benchmark index, ended up 103.01 points, or 0.32 percent, at 32,064.52, after moving between 31,989.86 and 32,196.75. Turnover totaled NT$724.61 billion (US$23.08 billion).

"The momentum of the Taiex extended from recent significant gains," Cathay Futures Consultant analyst Tsai Ming-han said. Before Monday, the index had soared 2,997.91 points, or 10.35 percent since the beginning of the year.

"Today, raw material suppliers attracted bargain hunting as they had been left behind by tech stocks," Tsai said.

With the petrochemical index up 7.23 percent, Formosa Plastics Corp. and Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp. surged 10 percent, the maximum daily increase, to close at NT$48.80 and NT$38.95, respectively. Nan Ya Plastics Corp. ended up 5.97 percent at NT$81.70.

In the textile sector, which rose 2.48 percent, Far Eastern New Century Corp. rose 3.38 percent to close at NT$29.05 and Sinkong Synthetic Fibers Corp. gained 3.99 percent to end at NT$15.65.

In the paper sector, which rose 2.19 percent, Shihlin Paper Corp. added 4.36 percent to close at NT$59.80, and YFY Inc. ended up 2.01 percent at NT$25.40.

"Inside the electronics sector, rotational buying also appeared active when TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.) faced a minor correction but laggards such as MediaTek steamed ahead," Tsai said.

Contract chipmaker TSMC, which accounts for over 40 percent of total market value, lost 0.85 percent to close at NT$1,755.00, while smartphone designer MediaTek Inc. surged 8.59 percent to end at NT$1,770.00 amid optimism over its efforts to develop application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC).

Memory chip suppliers continued to move higher on a product price hike with Winbond Electronics Corp. and Macronix International Co. both rising 10 percent to close at NT$113.00 and NT$76.20, respectively.

Also in the tech sector, AI server maker and iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. gained 1.13 percent to end at NT$224.00 on rotational buying.

In the financial sector, which rose 0.76 percent, shares in E. Sun Financial Holding Co. rose 1.20 percent to close at NT$33.65 and Cathay Financial Holding Co. ended up 0.65 percent at NT$77.10, while Fubon Financial Holding Co. lost 0.32 percent to end at NT$93.20.

"A Taiex uptrend could continue," Tsai said. "But investors should remain alert over the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting on Tuesday to Wednesday (U.S. time) and the U.S. tech earnings season starts later this week."

Despite the Taiex's gains, foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$1.49 billion worth of shares on the main board Monday, according to the TWSE.