Foreign Investors Sell NT$46.6 Billion, a 4-Day Streak, Led by a 130,000-Contract Sale of First Financial

(CNA, Reporter Tseng Jen-kai, Taipei, 20th) The Taiwan stock market continued its correction, oscillating around the flat line today and closing down 154.74 points at 40020.82, holding the 40,000-point mark. The trading value reached NT$978.923 billion. According to statistics from the Taiwan Stock Exchange, the three major institutional investors had a total net sell of NT$57.272 billion. Observing the movements of the three major institutional investors, foreign and mainland Chinese investors (excluding foreign proprietary traders) recorded a net sell of NT$46.639 billion today, marking the fourth consecutive trading day of net selling. Proprietary traders reduced their holdings by NT$19.57 billion, their seventh consecutive day of selling. Only investment trusts were on the buy side, with a net purchase of NT$8.937 billion, for the third consecutive trading day. In terms of individual stocks, the top 3 net sells by foreign investors today were First Financial Holding with 136,973 contracts, 'Zhu Dong Tong Yi Sheng Ji' with 5,056,610 contracts, and UMC with 55,125 contracts. On the buy list, the top 3 net buys by foreign investors today were CTBC Financial Holding with 50,583 contracts, 'Taishin Shinkong Financial' with 36,307 contracts, and Evergreen Marine with 25,570 contracts. Senior analyst Tsai Ming-han observed that while the Taiwan stock market has been volatile at high levels recently, its overall structure remains very strong. This is primarily because the first-quarter earnings reports from listed companies in Taiwan and the US have been much better than expected, especially for AI-related technology stocks. With Nvidia set to release its earnings tonight, past experience suggests its performance should be strong. However, stock prices often face a pullback after earnings announcements, typically requiring about a week of consolidation before resuming an upward trend. He speculates that the Taiwan stock market may maintain a high-level consolidation pattern until the end of May. Tsai Ming-han forecasts that the upcoming COMPUTEX in early June, a star-studded event, will ignite new themes and topics for the market, potentially spurring a new rally for Taiwan stocks. Regarding market concerns about inflation, Tsai believes the main driver of the current inflation is the rise in oil prices due to US-Iran tensions, which is an artificial factor. Oil prices could drop at any time if peace talks commence. He advises investors to monitor inflation dynamics but not to worry excessively. (Editor: Yang Lan-hsuan) 1150520