Taiwan shares end at new high as TSMC steams ahead

Taipei, June 2 (CAN) Shares of Taiwan smashed closing levels Tuesday, with contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) driving the upturn as optimism toward AI offset uncertainty created by tensions in the Middle East, dealers said.

The Taiex, the Taiwan Stock Exchange's benchmark, ended up 219.40 points, or 0.48 percent, at 45,557.31 after moving between 44,869.38 and 45,915.92. Turnover totaled NT$1.61 trillion (US$50.60 billion).

"Tech heavyweights talked up AI applications at the current Computex Taipei, sparking buying in the local main board after a rally among tech stocks in the United States overnight," Concord Securities analyst Kerry Huang said, citing a 1.06 percent increase on the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

"Enthusiasm toward AI offset geopolitical unease and many investors still have high hopes that the U.S. and Iran will eventually make a ceasefire deal," Huang said.

After Nvidia Corp. founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) introduced new AI chip NX1 for PC use in cooperation with TSMC and IC designer MediaTek Inc., TSMC, which accounts for over 40 percent of total market value, rose 1.06 percent to close at a new high of NT$2,380.00. TSMC's gains contributed about 200 points to the Taiex's rise.

However, MediaTek lost ground, falling 0.66 percent to end at NT$4,575.00 as investors pocketed the recent strong gains built in recent sessions.

Following U.S. memory chip supplier Micron Technologies Inc.'s 6.64 percent overnight, Taiwan's counterparts Nanya Technology Corp. and Winbond Electronics Corp. soared 10 percent, the maximum daily increase, to close at NT$419.50 and NT$184.50.

Riding the waves of the NX1 chip, PC brands attracted strong buying with Acer Inc. and Asustek Computer Inc. surging 10 percent to end at NT$42.55 and NT$920.00, respectively.

Meanwhile, iPhone assembler and AI server maker Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. rose 2.73 percent to close at NT$301.50, and Quanta Computer Inc., another AI server supplier, gained 7.52 percent to end at NT$400.50.

Kerry Huang said the financial sector, which rose 2.20 percent on high returns from their investments in the stock market, added momentum to the Taiex.

CTBC Financial Holding Co. gained 3.22 percent to close at NT$64.10, and Fubon Financial Holding Co. added 2.71 percent to end at NT$113.50.

Old economy stocks largely lagged behind the tech sector, but firms with links to AI development outperformed, Huang said. Among them, Nan Ya Plastics Corp., the parent of Nanya Technology, gained 4.65 percent to close at NT$112.50, and Formosa Plastics Corp., an affiliate of Nan Ya, grew 1.80 percent to end at NT$50.90.

Meanwhile, Asia Cement Corp. closed unchanged at NT$33.80, while TCC Group Holdings Co. added 0.41 percent to end at NT$24.65.

"As rotational buying remains active with local investors' appetite to take risks growing, the Taiex is likely to gain further," Huang said. "I think the index could top 46,000 points shortly."

According to the Taiex, foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$10.28 billion of shares on the main board Tuesday.