Taipei:Taiwan shares continued their upward momentum on Tuesday with the benchmark Taiex surging by more than 1,000 points. This increase followed a rally on Wall Street, spurred by declining crude oil prices that have alleviated inflation concerns, according to market analysts.
According to Focus Taiwan, the Taiex, Taiwan Stock Exchange's main index, rose by 1,050.22 points or 2.52 percent, closing at 42,711.92. The session saw the index fluctuating between 41,930.03 and 43,135.92, while turnover reached NT$1.00 trillion (US$30.61 billion).
The rally in Taiwan was influenced by Monday's gains in U.S. indices, with the Nasdaq increasing by 2.74 percent and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index climbing by 6.85 percent, despite Nvidia's shares dropping by 4.27 percent. Adam Lin, an analyst at Moore Securities Investment Consulting, noted that the stabilization of AI-related stocks abroad, despite controversies surrounding Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, contributed to the strong performance of local AI-linked stocks.
Concerns were raised regarding national security following reports of Huang's affair, allegedly involving a Chinese technology spy. Nvidia's board is investigating, though they believe there hasn't been a compromise to national security or corporate secrets.
Taiwan's electronics sector saw a rise of 3.06 percent led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), which increased by 2.24 percent, contributing significantly to the Taiex's gains. MediaTek Inc. and ASE Technology Holding Co. also saw notable increases, while Delta Electronics Inc. and Gold Circuit Electronics Inc. both surged by 10 percent.
Non-technology sectors showed mixed results. The petrochemical sector rose, with Nan Ya Plastics Corp. and Formosa Plastics Corp. showing gains. However, the food sector and financial stocks saw declines.
The Taiwan Stock Exchange reported that foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$34.12 billion worth of shares on the main board on Tuesday, a trend analysts suggest should be closely monitored in the coming sessions.