Taiwan shares rebounded Tuesday after tumbling last week as investors shrugged off the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, dealers said.
As of 10:37 a.m., the Taiwan Stock Exchange’s benchmark weighted index, the Taiex, had risen 226.39 points, or 1.28 percent, to 17,878.57, on turnover of NT$196.41 billion (US$7.01 billion).
The Taiex opened slightly higher, and buying quickly accelerated to push it close to 17,900 points by mid-morning, despite the lack of results from talks between Russia and Ukraine on ending hostilities that took place Monday.
“Although the initial negotiations between Russia and Ukraine failed to result in any progress, the two sides are willing to continue to talk, which could lead to an end to the war,” MasterLink Securities analyst Tom Tang said.
“That sentiment helped not only Taipei but other regional markets stage a rebound,” Tang said, referring to markets in Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai.
Bargain hunting
The Taiex’s 3.18 percent fall last week attracted bargain hunters to the market on Tuesday, the first day of trading this week after a national holiday Monday, Tang said.
“This morning, the electronics sector led the upturn after being hit the hardest last week, with semiconductor stocks the main focus,” Tang said.
As of 10:37 a.m., the electronics sector had risen 1.20 percent, and the semiconductor sub-index was up 1.09 percent.
Among the gaining semiconductor heavyweights, United Microelectronics Corp., a smaller contract chipmaker in Taiwan, had risen 3.45 percent to NT$53.90, and smartphone chip designer MediaTek Inc, was up 2.76 percent at NT$1,115.00.
TSMC
However, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker and the market’s most heavily weighted stock, was underperforming the broader market, up only 0.50 percent at NT$607.00.
“TSMC’s performance was affected by a (3.79 percent) dive by its American depositary receipts (ADRs) on the U.S. markets overnight,” Tang said.
Elsewhere, Formosa Plastics Corp. was up 2.86 percent at NT$108.00 and Formosa Petrochemical Corp. had gained 2.25 percent to NT$100.00 on a spike in international crude oil prices.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel