Taiex closes at 2nd-highest level led by semiconductor stocks

Taipei, Sept. 7 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan soared over 700 points to close at their second-highest level on record Monday as buying focused on large-cap semiconductor stocks after their U.S. counterparts rallied at the end of last week, dealers said.

The Taiex, the Taiwan Stock Exchange's benchmark index, ended up 775.14 points, or 1.67 percent, at 47,326.27, trailing only its record close of 47,741.51 on June 22. Turnover totaled NT$939.93 billion (US$29.71 billion).

"Although the U.S. jobs data for August raised worries over a rate hike by the Federal Reserve, investors here still rushed to pick up semiconductor stocks following gains in the U.S. amid the current AI boom," Concord Securities analyst Kerry Huang said, citing a 3.38 percent increase in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

"TSMC, again, led the semiconductor industry and the broader market sharply higher," Huang said.

After its American depositary receipts rose 2.06 percent Friday, contract chipmaker TSMC, which accounts for over 40 percent of the local market's total value, rose 2.07 percent to close at NT$2,460.00, contributing about 400 points to the Taiex's rise.

Among other semiconductor stocks, United Microelectronics Corp., a smaller contract chipmaker, soared 10 percent, the maximum daily increase, to close at NT$143.00 after reporting a 30.71 percent year-on-year increase in August sales.

Smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc. gained 7.81 percent to close at NT$4,760.00 on its ASIC development. South Korean memory chip suppliers Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. surged Monday, while Taiwan's Nanya Technology Corp. rose 4.23 percent to end at NT$517.00.

Also in the technology sector, power management solutions provider Delta Electronics Inc. gained 1.37 percent to close at NT$1,850.00, but smartphone camera lens supplier Largan Precision Co. plunged 10 percent, the maximum daily decline, to end at NT$6,660.00 after a European brokerage issued a "sell" recommendation.

Huang said nontechnology stocks largely underperformed as the electronics sector remained in the spotlight.

Eclat Textile Co. shed 2.24 percent to close at NT$306.00, while rival Makalot Industrial Co. ended down 0.76 percent at NT$195.00.

Yulon Motor Co. lost 0.96 percent to close at NT$30.80, while Hotai Motor Co., a sales agent for Toyota, ended unchanged at NT$539.00.

However, Huang said select petrochemical stocks bucked the downturn amid optimism over their development of raw materials used in technology products. Among them, Nan Ya Plastics Corp. rose 2.22 percent to close at NT$230.50, and affiliate Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp. ended up 3.01 percent at NT$71.90.

With the financial sector falling 0.23 percent, Fubon Financial Holding Co. closed down 0.66 percent at NT$149.50 and Cathay Financial Holding Co. ended down 0.43 percent at NT$114.50.

"Despite shrugging off the August U.S. nonfarm payroll data today, investors should pay close attention to inflation data due later this week for a better indication of the Fed's next move," Huang said.

According to the Taiwan Stock Exchange, foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$88.31 billion worth of shares on the main board Monday.