Taiwan Stocks Fluctuate 471 Points, Close Lower on Settlement Day but Hold 40,000 Mark

(CNA, Taipei, May 20, by reporter Tseng Jen-kai) Ahead of NVIDIA's earnings announcement, investor caution combined with today's settlement of Taiwan index futures sent the Taiwan stock market on a volatile ride, with an intraday swing of 471.96 points. The index hit a low of 39,967.08 points. A late-session sell-off in heavyweight stocks pushed the close to 40,020.82, holding the 40,000 integer-point mark. The Taiwan stock market briefly fell below the 40,000-point level near the close but quickly recovered. The main board ended down 154.74 points at 40,020.82, with a turnover of NT$978.923 billion. Looking at the four major heavyweight stocks, TSMC closed down NT$20, or 0.91%, at its daily low of NT$2185. MediaTek rose NT$75, or 2.38%, to close at NT$3230. Delta Electronics was unchanged at NT$1915, and Hon Hai (Foxconn) fell NT$5, or 2.04%, to close at NT$240. The passive components sector had a stellar performance today. Sector leader Yageo saw its stock price surge to a high of NT$545, a new peak since its stock split. It closed up NT$23, or 4.63%, at NT$520. This spurred many other stocks, including Walsin Technology, Kaimei, Lelon, Ta-I, Nissei Denki, Chunpo, Polytronics, and U-p邦, to hit their limit-up prices. Senior analyst Tsai Ming-han analyzed that although the Taiwan stock market has been volatile at high levels recently, the overall structure remains very strong. The main reason is that Q1 earnings from listed companies in Taiwan and the U.S. have been much better than expected, especially from AI-related tech stocks, providing strong support for the index. Tsai stated that many AI tech stocks have seen significant price increases during this period, with their deviation rate hitting the highest point since the AI boom began, necessitating a correction after the large gains. The TAIEX has currently pulled back below the monthly moving average. Tsai believes the next key focus is NVIDIA's earnings report tonight, for which the market has positive expectations. However, he cautioned that based on past experiences with NVIDIA's earnings releases, the stock price often pulls back after good numbers are announced, typically taking about a week to consolidate before resuming its upward climb. He speculates that the Taiwan market may maintain a high-level consolidation pattern until the end of May. (Editor: Chang Liang-chih)