TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s stock market continued its upward trajectory for the fourth straight session on Friday, driven by gains in the information technology sector, AI-related stocks, and high-priced shares, led by TSMC.
The Taiwan Stock Exchange Capitalization Weighted Stock Index or TAIEX closed up 161.67 points at 23478.27. Turnover totaled NT$351.7 billion (US$10.7 billion), per CNA.
TSMC climbed NT$10 (30 cents) to close at NT$1,125, while Foxconn rose 2.89% to NT$178. MediaTek remained flat at NT$1,525.
AI stocks were also strong performers. Quanta Computer rose 3.92% to NT$252, Wistron gained 0.97% to NT$104.5, and Wiwynn advanced 3.3% to NT$2,190.
China-based electronics giant Xiaomi is set to launch its new AI glasses. CEO Lei Jun (雷軍) said he expected shipments of at least 300,000 units.
The news fueled investor optimism, pushing Xiaomi’s stock up 4.68% on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Friday, per CTEE. Taiwan’s AI glasses-related stocks benefited from the development, with VisEra Technologies climbing 4.24%, alongside gains from Genius Electronic Optical, Everlight Electronics, and a dozen other stocks.
Institutional investors noted that Taiwan’s stock market has largely rebounded from the post-Lunar New Year trading gap. However, short-term volatility remains due to uncertainty surrounding potential tariff policies from US President Donald Trump and the growing impact of DeepSeek’s low-cost AI solutions.
A report by SemiAnalysis claims that DeepSeek’s total hardware investment has surpassed US$500 million over the company’s history. It states that the frequently cited US$6 million figure from its research paper only reflects GPU costs for a single pre-training run and does not account for the full AI model development expenses.
Shin Kong Investment Trust Chair Liu Kun-hsi (劉坤錫) said that while DeepSeek’s influence on AI stock prices has moderated, it has disrupted the traditional AI supply chain, which was previously dominated by TSMC and Nvidia. The industry is expected to diversify, with software playing a more prominent role alongside hardware.
DeepSeek’s reported low-cost, high-performance AI model could challenge reliance on high-end chips in the future. Combined with its open-source approach, it may accelerate the growth of AI applications worldwide, benefiting software developers.
This may drive greater demand for AI-powered end-user applications, benefiting companies such as MediaTek in mobile devices and Acer, Asus, and MSI in computing. Moreover, software firms could gain from DeepSeek’s open-source approach, allowing them to develop AI applications at lower costs.
Analysts expect sector rotation in the near term and advise investors to focus on undervalued stocks. Despite fluctuations, AI demand remains strong in the medium to long term, and investors are advised to monitor first-quarter revenue growth as a key indicator.
This information is not intended as personalized financial advice. Investors are encouraged to conduct their own research and analysis before making investment decisions.
