Taipei: Shares in Taiwan closed higher Thursday, but gains were limited by strong technical resistance near the 23,500-point mark and renewed concerns over U.S. tariff policies, dealers said. The Taiex, the weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), ended up 55.06 points, or 0.24 percent, at 23,373.73 after moving between 23,295.31 and 23,455.09. Turnover totaled NT$340.72 billion (US$11.63 billion). According to Focus Taiwan, the market opened 0.23 percent higher, buoyed by the momentum from the previous session, with buying pushing the Taiex up 136 points to the day's high in early trading. However, profit-taking occurred as the index approached the 23,500-point mark, causing a retreat from its intraday high. Analyst Kevin Su from Hua Nan Securities noted that the technical barrier near 23,500 points remains formidable due to moderate turnover. AI-related stocks continued to attract investors, supported by Google's better-than-expected earnings, which highlighted strong sector momentum. Hon Hai P recision Industry Co., an iPhone assembler and AI server maker, rose 4.82 percent, while AI server supplier Quanta Computer Inc. gained 1.70 percent. Cloud services provider Wiwynn Corp. increased by 2.66 percent, and Asia Vital Components Co. rose 1.42 percent. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) remained unchanged, but AIchip Technologies Inc. saw a 3.92 percent increase. Su added that investor hesitation was partly due to awaiting clarity on Taiwan's potential tariff deal with the United States. Concerns persist that a tariff rate higher than Japan's 15 percent could negatively impact exporters in traditional industries, causing old economy stocks to underperform. In the machinery industry, which competes globally with Japan, Tongtai Machine and Tool Co. fell 1.30 percent, and Hiwin Technologies Co. slipped 0.23 percent. In the steel sector, Chung Hung Steel Corp. dropped 2.49 percent, and Tung Ho Steel Corp. decreased by 0.61 percent. The financial sector also saw losses, with E. Sun Financial Holding Co. falling 0.61 percent, Fubon Financial Holding Co. slipping 0.24 percent, and Cathay Financial Holding Co. edging down 0.16 percent. Su mentioned that upcoming earnings reports from major U.S. tech stocks such as Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc. would be closely watched for insights on global demand amid ongoing tariff concerns. According to the TWSE, foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$10.15 billion worth of shares on the main board Thursday.