TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s stock market hit a record intraday high on Thursday while marking its largest-ever trading volume before closing lower.
The Taiwan Capitalization Weighted Stock Index (TAIEX) fell 267.55 points to close at 32,536.27, moving within a range of over 500 points during the session. Turnover reached NT$930.8 billion (US$29.6 billion), according to CNA and CTEE.
TSMC reached a new intraday high of NT$1,835 shortly after the open. It closed down 0.82% at NT$1,805.
MediaTek closed unchanged at NT$1,780. Foxconn declined 0.67% to NT$224, while Delta Electronics fell 1.95% to NT$1,255.
Aspeed Technology, the market’s highest-priced stock, rose 5.37% to close at NT$9,315. The stock reached NT$9,500 during the session, moving closer toward five-digit territory.
UMC closed down 9.88% at NT$68.40 on Thursday following its earnings briefing. After the semiconductor foundry after Wednesday's market close reported December results in line with expectations and maintained a positive growth outlook for the year, foreign analysts offered mixed assessments.
Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs issued negative ratings, while UBS and Citigroup provided positive evaluations. Foreign institutional investors on Wednesday sold about 50,000 lots, or 50 million shares, and UMC’s American depositary shares fell more than 8%.
This suggests that recent gains had largely been priced in, according to Sinotrade. Peer Vanguard International Semiconductor declined 9.82%.
Memory stocks showed mixed performance as funds rotated away from foundries into the sector. Macronix International hit its daily limit-up, Elite Semiconductor Microelectronics Technology rose 6.93%, and Nanya Technology closed flat.
In contrast, ASolid fell 9.24% and Team Group declined 2.73%. Investor interest in memory stocks has grown on expectations of rising prices and a possible cyclical upswing in demand, drawing regulatory attention.
Steelmakers outperformed the broader market after China Steel said Wednesday that its pretax profit returned to positive territory in December, ending eight straight months of losses. Chung Hung Steel, Wei Chih Steel Industrial, and Yieh Hsing Enterprise all closed at their daily limit-ups.
Taishin Investment Management fund manager Shen Chien-hung (沈建宏) said profit-taking pressure has increased as the TAIEX hovered around the 33,000-point level. He noted that large amounts of borrowing for stock purchases, exceeding NT$380 billion, have contributed to wider intraday swings, according to CTEE.
Despite short-term fluctuations, Shen said the medium- to long-term outlook remains positive, supported by demand for artificial intelligence-related products and upcoming earnings from technology companies in Taiwan and the US. Microsoft, Meta Platforms, and Tesla reported Wednesday results above market expectations, according to CNBC.
Investors are now awaiting reports from Apple and Alphabet. Shen added that several external factors, including US court rulings on tariffs and the selection of the next Federal Reserve chair and its potential impact on interest rate expectations, could influence market direction.
Shen said favorable developments in these areas could support further gains in Taiwan’s stock market. He noted that investors are focusing on sectors such as AI supply chains, optical communications, semiconductor materials, companies linked to US manufacturing expansion, low-Earth-orbit satellites, high-dividend stocks, and footwear manufacturers.
This information is not intended as personalized financial advice. Investors are encouraged to conduct their own research and analysis before making investment decisions.
