Taiwan shares soar over 900 points led by electronics sector

Taipei, Feb. 24 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan moved sharply higher Tuesday as investors shrugged off losses seen in American markets overnight and rushed to buy electronics stocks related to the AI boom, dealers said.

The Taiex, the Taiwan Stock Exchange's benchmark index, ended up 927.56 points, or 2.75 percent, at 34,700.82 after fluctuating between 33,987.51 and 34,786.42. It was the fourth consecutive session that the index closed at a new high.

Turnover totaled NT$837.07 billion (US$26.60 billion).

"Many investors, in particular retail investors, who had trimmed their holdings before the Lunar New Year holiday, have returned to the trading floor and resumed buying through margin trading," Mega International Investment Services analyst Alex Huang said.

"They scrambled to rebuild their positions by adding large cap tech stocks as Taiwan is benefiting from robust global demand for AI applications," Huang added, referring to strong January export data.

Huang said contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), which provides high-end chips for AI use, was the top target of Tuesday's buying, rising 3.42 percent to close at NT$1,965.00.

The gains of TSMC, which accounts for over 40 percent of total market value, contributed about 540 points alone to the Taiex and sent the electronics index up 3.35 percent.

Among other AI related semiconductor stocks, IC packaging and testing services provider ASE Technology Holding Co. surged 9.31 percent to end at NT$381.50, and TSMC's application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design subsidiary Global Unichip Corp. rose 5.49 percent to close at NT$2,500.00.

Elsewhere in the tech sector, printed circuit board maker Compeq Manufacturing Co. jumped 10 percent, the maximum daily increase, to end at NT$225.50, and Yageo Corp., the world's third-largest multi-layer ceramic capacitor producer, rose 6.93 percent to close at NT$301.10.

Power management solution provider Delta Electronics Inc. ended up 6.13 percent at NT$1,385.00.

"While electronics stocks attracted most of the attention, non-tech stocks appeared mixed, though the petrochemical sector posted strong gains.

The sector was led Tuesday by Nan Ya Plastics Corp., which has generated about 50 percent of sales from its electronics material division during the AI era, Huang said.

With the petrochemical index up 3.63 percent, Nan Ya Plastics surged 8.61 percent to close at NT$90.80, and its buying spread to its affiliates.

Formosa Plastics Corp. rose 3.29 percent to end at NT$48.60, and Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp. gained 3.47 percent to close at NT$44.75.

Bucking the upturn, Eclat Textile Co. lost 1.26 percent to close at NT$432.00, and rival Makalot Industrial Co. fell 1.09 percent to end at NT$318.50.

In the financial sector, Cathay Financial Holding Co. dropped 1.76 percent to close at NT$78.20 and Fubon Financial Holding Co. ended down 1.67 percent at NT$94.10.

"After today's significant gains, technically speaking, the Taiex could face the nearest resistance ahead of 35,000 points," Huang said.

According to the Taiwan Stock Exchange, foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$62.73 billion in shares on the market Tuesday.