Taipei: Shares in Taiwan surged on Wednesday, with the Taiwan Stock Exchange's benchmark index, the Taiex, climbing 663.16 points, or 1.47 percent, to close at 45,832.62. This rally was primarily driven by AI-related stocks, fueled by optimism that Nvidia Corp., a leading U.S. AI chip company, would deliver positive results and guidance during its investor conference later in the day.
According to Focus Taiwan, the market's turnover reached NT$804.25 billion (US$25.25 billion), up from NT$724.26 billion on Tuesday. This surge was largely attributed to investor confidence in AI development, spurred by expectations surrounding Nvidia's forthcoming announcements. Tsai Ming-han, an analyst at Cathay Futures Consultant, noted that the day's gains in tech stocks were reflective of this optimism, with a higher turnover indicating a greater willingness among investors to buy at elevated prices.
The local electronics index mirrored this positive sentiment, increasing by 1.47 percent following a 2.19 percent rise in Nvidia shares overnight. Tsai highlighted that the buying spree was not concentrated solely on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) but extended across a wider spectrum of AI-related stocks, resulting in a more balanced trading session.
TSMC, representing over 40 percent of the market's total value, saw a moderate rise of 0.62 percent, closing at NT$2,415.00. Meanwhile, other semiconductor chip stocks experienced stronger buying activity. Notably, Global Unichip Corp., TSMC's ASIC design subsidiary, hit the maximum daily increase of 10 percent, closing at NT$6,125.00. AIchip Technologies Inc., another ASIC designer, rose 2.46 percent to close at NT$3,960.00. Smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc. also posted significant gains, climbing 5.62 percent to end at NT$3,945.00.
The positive trend extended beyond the semiconductor industry to other electronics component makers involved in AI development. Companies like Kinsus Interconnect Technology Corp. and Unimicron Technology Corp. saw their shares rise by 5.51 percent and 5.94 percent, respectively. Additionally, iPhone assembler and AI server maker Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. increased by 1.44 percent to close at NT$246.50. Largan Precision Co., an Apple Inc. camera lens supplier, surged 10 percent to reach a new high of NT$6,290.00 as it diversifies into co-packaged optics products.
Traditional industries also benefitted from the AI boom, with Nan Ya Plastics Corp. and Grand Pacific Petrochemical Corp. both advancing 10 percent, thanks to their production of AI-related electronics materials.
Despite the overall uptrend, the shipping sector faced declines. Evergreen Marine Corp. fell 6.10 percent to NT$231.00, and Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. dropped 9.43 percent to NT$57.60 due to profit-taking. The financial sector also experienced a dip, with Fubon Financial Holding Co. and Cathay Financial Holding Co. losing 2.12 percent and 0.49 percent, respectively.
According to the Taiwan Stock Exchange, foreign institutional investors were net buyers, acquiring NT$36.60 billion worth of shares on the main board for the day.