Passive Components, LEO Satellites Surge as TAIEX Narrows Mid-day Losses to 400 Points

(CNA, Taipei, 18th) With the US-Iran conflict in the Middle East unresolved and international oil prices rebounding, the market is worried about inflation variables. The stock markets of Japan and South Korea showed volatile trends in mid-day trading today. The Taiwan stock market (TAIEX) once plunged over a thousand points in early trading, testing the 40,000-point mark. Mid-day, heavyweight stocks like MediaTek, Hon Hai, and UMC rallied against the trend. Passive component stocks such as Yageo and Walsin, and LEO satellite stocks saw multiple limit-up gains, helping TAIEX narrow its losses to around 400 points.

Around 10:57 AM, the TAIEX was at 40675.71 points, down 496.65 points or 1.2%, with a trading value of approximately NT$621.649 billion. The electronics index narrowed its mid-day losses to 1.3%, the financial index fell 0.24%, and the OTC index, representing small and medium-sized stocks, was down 1.5% mid-day.

Market king TSMC hit a low of NT$2215 in early trading, down NT$50 or 2.2%, but recovered to NT$2235 mid-day, narrowing its loss to 1.32%. Other electronics heavyweights saw Delta Electronics down 2.6%, while MediaTek surged 1.8%. Hon Hai turned positive with a small gain. ASE Technology Holding fell over 7%, while UMC turned positive, up 2.7%.

In the memory sector, Nanya Tech was volatile, down 4.5% mid-day, Winbond fell 4.6%, and Macronix was down over 2%. Low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite concept stocks strengthened on SpaceX's IPO theme, with Sheng Da, WUS Printed Circuit, Wistron NeWeb Corp, and Unimicron all hitting their limit-up prices.

Among high-priced stocks over NT$1,000, losers outnumbered gainers, struggling to maintain the '48-Thousand-Club'. Unimetal Industrial joined the thousand-dollar stock ranks mid-day, while M&T and Topco Scientific held the line, and Sheng-hui temporarily dropped below the thousand-dollar mark.

Ron Jung, vice president of Chi-Fa Investment Consulting, pointed out that unresolved issues like the US-Iran conflict and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz have disappointed market expectations. Last week's pullback in US stocks, a jump in international oil prices, and the US 30-year Treasury yield breaking 5% have fueled market fears about inflation's impact on US stocks, leading to today's volatile trading in Asian and Taiwanese markets.

Looking ahead for the TAIEX, Jung said to watch the views of prospective Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Kevin Warsh on interest rate trends, and the allocation moves of Taiwanese ETFs in heavyweight stocks. The market is also highly focused on the earnings report from AI chip giant NVIDIA, to be released on the 21st (Taiwan time), and its latest views on AI industry development.