TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s stock market closed 2025 at a historic high on Wednesday, supported by gains in TSMC and other major technology stocks on the final trading day of the year.
The Taiwan Capitalization Weighted Stock Index (TAIEX) opened higher and advanced steadily throughout the session. It briefly surpassed the 29,000-point mark to reach an intraday record high of 29,009.81, according to CNA.
The TAIEX ended the day up 256.47 points at 28,963.6, its highest closing level on record. Turnover totaled NT$536.1 billion (US$17 billion).
Over the course of 2025, the index recorded an annual trading range of 50.8%, measured between a low of 17,306.97 in April and Wednesday’s peak. The index rose 5,928.5 points for the year, or 25.73%, marking its largest annual point increase and extending its streak of yearly gains above 20% to three consecutive years, according to CNA.
TSMC closed at NT$1,550, up 1.97%, setting an all-time high and contributing 240 points to the index’s daily increase. For the year, TSMC shares rose NT$475, or 44.18%, adding NT$12.31 trillion in market value and accounting for 3,813 points of the TAIEX’s overall advance.
Other heavyweight stocks also ended higher. Foxconn gained 1.1% to NT$230.50, MediaTek rose 0.7% to NT$1,430, and Delta Electronics added 0.21% to NT$963.
Semiconductor testing and packaging stocks showed notable strength. Formosa Advanced Technologies and Ardentec reached their daily trading limits, with Ardentec extending gains for a fifth consecutive session and posting a cumulative increase of 37%, according to CTEE.
Panel makers also saw continued buying interest. Innolux rose 4.6% on heavy volume of 928,000 lots, or 928 million shares, making it the most actively traded stock of the day, while AUO gained 1.66% on turnover of 221,000 lots.
The combined market capitalization of listed companies reached NT$94.36 trillion, an increase of NT$20.45 trillion from 2024. Including over-the-counter firms, the total market value exceeded NT$100 trillion for the first time, reaching NT$101.76 trillion.
Beyond chip foundry and artificial intelligence server manufacturing, AI-related demand over the past year has extended to memory, power management, cooling systems, networking equipment, and data center infrastructure. Structural tightness in the memory market supported higher prices, contributing to gains in memory-related stocks such as Nanya Technology, according to CTEE.
Taishin Securities Investment Advisory Vice President Huang Wen-ching (黃文清) said that while Taiwan’s stock market experienced sizable fluctuations last year, the actual impact of US tariffs was less significant than initially anticipated. He said solid AI-related fundamentals supported market momentum, contributing to an improvement in overall sentiment.
Looking ahead, analysts said continued investment in AI by major cloud service providers, along with advances in next-generation chips, high-speed networking, and data center expansion, is expected to support Taiwan’s technology supply chain. Forecasts place the TAIEX in a range of 26,000 to 30,000 points in the first quarter of 2026.
Huang noted that earlier AI-related gains were largely concentrated in Nvidia’s supply chain. However, the increasing adoption of application-specific integrated circuits, or customized chips designed for particular uses, has broadened the market.
Major cloud service providers, including Google with its Tensor Processing Unit, are developing in-house chips, expanding related supply chains, and allowing a wider range of Taiwanese companies to participate. As a result, AI-driven growth has shifted from isolated segments to a broader, industry-wide trend.
Looking into 2026, Huang said investment in AI infrastructure is expected to continue. He said leading cloud service providers are likely to increase hardware spending while accelerating the development of proprietary AI software and large language models, reinforcing AI’s role as an important factor supporting Taiwan’s stock market.
Printed circuit board and memory companies dominate TAIEX's 2025 top gainers
According to data from Taishin Securities Investment Advisory, Taiwan’s top 20 best-performing stocks in 2025 were dominated by PCB and memory companies. Many of these stocks benefited from strong demand for AI servers and AI applications, with share prices rising severalfold over the year.
Leading the list was PCB upstream glass fiber manufacturer Glotech Industrial, which rose 686.1% for the year. Memory giant Nanya Technology ranked second with a 559.8% gain, according to CNA.
Other notable performers included PCB drill maker Topoint Technology in third place with a 483% increase. Memory company Winbond Electronics placed fourth with a 458.1% gain, while optical foil manufacturer Co-tech Development ranked fifth, rising 382.2%.
Key Ware Electronics, a PCB drill maker, ranked sixth with a 349.6% gain, followed by biotechnology firm Pell Bio-Med Technology in seventh place with a 319.2% increase. Memory packaging and testing company Walton Advanced Engineering ranked eighth with a 316.6% rise, while chemical company Qualipoly Chemical, which supplies materials for high-speed computing and 5G applications, ranked ninth with a 312.4% gain.
Stocks ranked 11th to 20th included server chassis manufacturer Chenbro Micom with a 282.8% gain, automation equipment provider Grade Upon Technology with 280.4%, and memory firm Adata Technology with 276.9%. Other performers in this group included glass fiber maker Fulltech Fiber Glass, semiconductor and wafer manufacturer Intelligent Epitaxy Technology, electronic materials company Sunvic Technology, semiconductor distributor Kuen Chaang Uppertech, copper-clad laminate manufacturer Taiwan Union Technology, advanced materials firm Top Bright Holding, and PCB manufacturer Kingpak Electronics, with gains ranging from 257.6% to 191%.
Analysts said that the strong performance of these stocks was primarily driven by AI server demand. Upgrades in server specifications, increased need for upstream PCB materials and consumables, rising memory prices, and higher computational demand for chips attracted significant investment to these sectors.
This information is not intended as personalized financial advice. Investors are encouraged to conduct their own research and analysis before making investment decisions.
