Taiex ends at high as TSMC tops NT$2,000 mark

Taipei, Feb. 25 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan again closed at a record high Wednesday, with the Taiex jumping more than 700 points after contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) breached the NT$2,000 (US$63.81) mark for the first time, dealers said.

The Taiex, the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) benchmark index, ended up 712.25 points, or 2.05 percent, at 35,413.07 after moving between 34,753.31 and 35,521.54. Turnover totaled NT$981.97 billion.

After its American depositary receipts (ADRs) rose 4.25 percent overnight, TSMC, which accounts for over 40 percent of total market value, gained 2.54 percent to close at NT$2,015.00, while coming off a record intraday high of NT$2,025.00. The stock contributed about 400 points to the Taiex's rise and sent the electronics index up 2.45 percent.

"Judging from the strong performance of TSMC's ADRs overnight, I think many investors stayed upbeat about the current AI boom as the chipmaker has taken the lead in high-end processes for AI use in the world," MasterLink Securities analyst Tom Tang said.

In addition, AI server maker and iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. rose 6.25 percent to end at NT$246.50, and Quanta Computer Inc., another AI server supplier, gained 4.75 percent to close at NT$297.50.

Bucking the upturn, memory chip producers came under pressure, with Winbond Electronics Corp. down 3.28 percent at NT$118.00 and Nanya Technology Corp. down 3.36 percent to end at NT$288.00.

Outside the tech sector, the petrochemical industry also steamed ahead, rising 2.86 percent.

Nan Ya Plastics Corp. rose 4.52 percent to close at NT$94.90 amid optimism toward its sales of fiber cloth used in tech gadgets during the AI era, Tang said. Formosa Plastics Corp., which has cross-shareholding with Nan Ya Plastics, soared 10 percent, the maximum daily increase, to end at NT$53.40.

Electric machinery stocks got a boost from reports about Taiwan Power Co.'s over NT$49 billion in equipment purchases to strengthen electricity grid networks, dealers said. Fortune Electric Co. surged 10 percent to close at NT$1,050.00 and Allis Electric Co. rose 6.10 percent to end at NT$130.50.

In the financial sector, which lost 0.63 percent, Cathay Financial Holding Co. shed 1.66 percent to close at NT$76.90, and Fubon Financial Holding Co. ended down 1.28 percent at NT$92.90.

According to the Taiwan Stock Exchange, foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$41.30 billion of shares on the main board Wednesday.