Taiwan Stock Pre-Market News: After 7,000-Point Rebound, Consolidation at 46,000; Third Wave of Power Semiconductor Price Hikes Begins

August 17 Taiwan Stock Pre-Market News

1. On August 17, Taiwan's stock market rose 46 points to close at 45,857. Foreign investors bought NT$45.447 billion worth of shares, marking their sixth consecutive day of net buying. Futures traders covered 1,754 short contracts, reducing net short positions to 83,400 contracts. Among individual stocks, foreign investors heavily bought active ETFs, AU Optronics, and shipping stocks, while selling memory and foundry-related stocks.

2. Driven by rising high-voltage demands from AI data centers, the power semiconductor industry is preparing for a new round of price hikes. Supply chain sources indicate that with upstream wafer and material costs continuing to rise and leading international manufacturers facing tight capacity, Taiwanese suppliers maintain high utilization rates. Some companies plan to raise prices for non-contract products by 10% to 15% starting October, marking the official emergence of the third wave of price increases in the power semiconductor sector.

3. Taisol (5434-TW), a major semiconductor materials distributor, held its earnings briefing on August 17. Chairman Tseng Hai-hua stated that due to surging demand from AI, HPC, and advanced processes, the global silicon wafer market has become increasingly active, with customers aggressively securing inventory. Meanwhile, rising raw material, petrochemical, and freight costs have led to price increases of around 10% to 15% for semiconductor materials such as photoresists and wafer carriers. The company expects its business to grow sequentially in the second half of the year.

4. With growing market expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will hold rates steady in September, international capital has flowed actively into Taiwan. The New Taiwan dollar strengthened significantly on August 17, closing at NT$31.852, up 1.94 cents—the highest level since July. The trading volume at Taipei Foreign Exchange Brokers reached US$1.784 billion.

5. On the morning of August 17, Taiwan's Executive Yuan delivered its second report to President Lai Qing-te on the compilation of the central government budget for the upcoming fiscal year (116). After listening to the briefing, President Lai stated that Taiwan, leveraging its long-standing strengths in semiconductor and ICT supply chains, has revised its economic growth forecast upward, expecting this year (115) to achieve its highest growth rate in 39 years. Next year's budget will maintain fiscal balance and zero net new debt, while allocating an additional NT$235.7 billion to distribute NT$10,000 to every citizen, ensuring that 'AI dividends are shared by all.'

6. Due to declining bulk carrier turnaround rates, freight rates remain high. Several bulk shipping companies reported profits more than doubling in the first half. Entering the second half, most carriers remain optimistic about the supply-demand structure. Hui Yang-KY (2637-TW) stated that the average daily number of vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz is less than one-tenth of pre-U.S.-Iran conflict levels, and reduced vessel turnover supports sustained high freight rates. Cheng Te (2641-TW) also noted that with tight supply and stable demand, freight rates are expected to remain volatile but slightly bullish, continuing to reflect war risk premiums.