Taiwan equities ended Wednesday's session with gains, driven by advances in technology-related sectors. The Taiwan Weighted rose 2.06% to close at a fresh record high, led by strength in the Semiconductor, Electronic Products Distribution and Electronics groups.
Among the day's top performers, Zenitron Corp (TW:3028) finished up 10.00% - gaining 4.20 points to close at 46.20. BizLink Holding Inc (TW:3665) added 9.96%, or 125.00 points, to reach 1,380.00 at the close. Universal Microelectronics Co Ltd (TW:2413) was also notably higher, rising 9.95% - an increase of 3.95 points to 43.65.
Not all stocks moved higher. The session's weakest showings included Lung Hwa Electronics Co Ltd (TW:2424), which slipped 9.27% or 3.30 points to finish at 32.30. Anderson Industrial Corp (TW:1528) declined 8.58%, a fall of 2.05 points to 21.85, while Favite Inc (TW:3535) fell 8.07% - down 9.00 points to 102.50.
Market breadth details for the session showed falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Taiwan Stock Exchange by 0 to 0.
Commodities and currency movements accompanied equity gains. Crude oil for March delivery was up 0.66% - rising 0.42 to trade at $64.38 a barrel. Brent oil for April delivery increased 0.57%, or 0.39, to $69.19 a barrel. The April Gold Futures contract advanced 0.87%, a rise of 43.69 to trade at $5,074.69 a troy ounce.
Currency metrics showed USD/TWD down 0.36% to 31.40, while TWD/CNY was unchanged 0.36% to 0.22. The US Dollar Index Futures declined 0.27% to 96.42.
Summary observations:
- The Taiwan Weighted closed at a new all-time high, rising 2.06% on the session.
- Semiconductor, Electronic Products Distribution and Electronics sectors were the principal drivers of the market advance.
- A handful of mid-cap and small-cap names recorded near-double-digit gains, while several other stocks posted declines approaching or exceeding 8-9%.
These intraday moves were accompanied by modest upticks in oil prices, a notable increase in the quoted gold futures contract by dollar terms, and a softer US dollar against the Taiwan dollar as measured by USD/TWD and the US Dollar Index Futures.