Three Major Institutional Investors Buy NT$16.4 Billion; Foreign Investors Heavily Buy Wistron 79,000 Lots, Majorly Accumulate Formosa Plastics Group

Taiwan's stock market (23rd) opened higher and fluctuated throughout the day, briefly turning negative and plunging over 400 points. However, late-session buying brought the index back into positive territory, closing at 44,850 points with a modest gain of 25 points. Trading volume decreased to NT$892.5 billion. On this day, all three major institutional investors were net buyers, collectively purchasing NT$16.489 billion. Foreign investors, optimistic about Wistron's (3231-TW) new U.S. plant opening, bought 79,000 lots—ranking first in daily net buys and marking their fourth consecutive day of buying. They also heavily bought the 'Three Treasures' of the Formosa Plastics (1301-TW) Group. Conversely, investment trust companies took an opposite approach to foreign investors, significantly buying financial stocks.

Regarding institutional investor movements: foreign investors bought NT$6.958 billion, investment trusts bought NT$5.337 billion, and proprietary traders bought NT$4.194 billion, totaling a combined net purchase of NT$16.489 billion. Foreign investors reduced their short positions in futures by 1,397 contracts, bringing their cumulative short position to 75,100 contracts.

Among foreign investors' top 10 net-buy stocks, Wistron's new plant opening attracted strong interest, especially as NVIDIA (NVDA-US) CEO Jensen Huang attended the opening ceremony. Wistron topped the list with 79,000 lots bought, marking four consecutive days of buying. Other major buys included: China Steel (42,700 lots), Formosa Plastics (28,600 lots), Hon Hai (23,700 lots), Formosa Chemicals & Fibre (22,900 lots), Formosa Chemicals (19,800 lots), Cathay Financial Holding (18,400 lots), China Synthetic Fiber (17,300 lots), Winbond Electronics (15,500 lots), and Pegatron (12,400 lots).

Foreign investors' top 10 net-sell stocks included six financial institutions. Top sell-offs were: Chang Hwa Bank (24,400 lots), Taiwan Business Bank (23,100 lots), China Airlines (20,600 lots), Nan Ya Plastics and First Financial Holding (19,300 lots each), Taishin & Shin Kong Financial (16,500 lots), Hua Nan Financial Holding (14,600 lots), Mega Financial Holding (12,500 lots), Zhen Ding-KY (12,300 lots), and Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing (11,700 lots). Foreign investors also sold 4,614 lots of TSMC, marking their second consecutive day of selling.

Investment trusts' top 10 net-buy stocks were dominated by financials, with eight entries. Top buys included: Taishin & Shin Kong Financial (14,400 lots), Hua Nan Financial Holding (10,900 lots), Chang Hwa Bank (9,595 lots), First Financial Holding (8,666 lots), Yuanta Financial Holding (6,667 lots), Hsing Fu Fa (6,574 lots), Mega Financial Holding (6,183 lots), Uni-President (4,998 lots), CTBC Leasing-KY (3,017 lots), and China Trust Financial Holding (3,010 lots).

Investment trusts' top 10 net-sell stocks were led by UMC (9,809 lots), followed by Macronix (6,401 lots), Capital Securities (4,859 lots), Inventec (3,726 lots), Acer (3,666 lots), EVA Airways (3,166 lots), and then POU Chen, Cathay Financial Holding, Far EasTone, and Cheng Shin Rubber.

Institutional analysts noted that foreign investors took an optimistic stance in both futures and spot markets today. However, overall positioning remains cautious. Technically, the TAIEX shows resistance pressure, suggesting a conservative, range-bound trading approach for Taiwan stocks in the short term.