Taiwan shares end at new high as Israel seeks talks with Lebanon

Taipei, April 10 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan closed at a historical high Friday with large-cap tech stocks in focus after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was seeking direct talks with Lebanon, which has eased tensions in the Middle East, dealers said.

The Taiex, the Taiwan Stock Exchange's benchmark index, ended up 556.67 points, or 1.60 percent, at the day's high of 35,417.83 after coming off a low of 34,950.87. Turnover totaled NT$829.54 billion (US$25.91 billion).

The market opened 0.25 percent higher and momentum accelerated until the end of the session amid hopes that the willingness of Israel to talk with Lebanon will boost the chance of success at peace negotiations between the United States and Iran, which are scheduled to start later in the day, Mega International Investment Services analyst Alex Huang said.

"Market sentiment improved around the region," Huang said. "In Taiwan, investors rushed to buy into tech stocks ... I think foreign institutional investors just stood on the buy side as they were rebuilding their positions."

According to the Taiwan Stock Exchange, foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$28.81 billion of shares on the main board Friday.

With the bellwether electronics index rising 2.08 percent, shares in contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), which accounts for over 40 percent of total market value, rose 2.30 percent to close at the day's high of NT$2,000.00, contributing about 360 points to the Taiex's rise.

"During the current AI era, investors appeared willing to pick up the stock as they stayed upbeat that TSMC will give positive leads at an investor conference next week," Huang said.

TSMC's IC assembly equipment supplier Scientech Corp. soared 10 percent, the maximum daily increase, to end at NT$673.00. Memory chip supplier Nanya Technology Corp. gained 4.88 percent to close at NT$215.00, while smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc. ended unchanged at NT$1,575.00.

Outside the semiconductor industry, power management solution provider Delta Electronics Inc., second to TSMC in market value, rose 5.47 percent to close at NT$1,735.00, while AI server maker and iPhone Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. ended up 0.25 percent at NT$200.50.

"With the electronics sector in the spotlight, nontech stocks were largely left behind," Huang said.

Nan Ya Plastics Corp. lost 4.23 percent to close at NT$81.60, and Formosa Plastics Corp. fell 0.95 percent to end at NT$46.95.

In addition, China Steel Corp., Taiwan's biggest steel maker, dropped 0.74 percent to close at NT$20.05 and Tung Ho Steel Corp. ended down 0.98 percent at NT$71.00.

Bucking the downturn, Shihlin Electric & Engineering Corp. rose 1.64 percent to close at NT$186.00, and Fortune Electric Co. ended up 0.99 percent at NT$814.00.

In the financial sector, which lost 0.76 percent, Fubon Financial Holding Co. shed 1.02 percent to close at NT$87.60 and Cathay Financial Holding Co. fell 0.95 percent at NT$72.90.