The four major U.S. stock indices had mixed results on Wednesday, while the Taiwan stock market opened lower and fluctuated today (21st). It fell below the quarterly moving average early in the session. Although the shipping and construction sectors performed well, they could not offset the weakness of major electronic and financial stocks, including TSMC, Hon Hai, Fubon Financial, and Mega Financial. Additionally, the "Four Kings" of Formosa Plastics and other electronic sectors also showed weak performance. The weighted index ultimately closed at 22,555.66 points, down 132.70 points or 0.58%, having briefly regained the quarterly moving average, with trading volume shrinking to NT$348.693 billion.
The market is awaiting Nvidia's earnings report and is concerned about the escalating Russia-Ukraine conflict and the weak earnings report from retail giant Target. As a result, the four major U.S. indices showed mixed performance. In the Asian stock markets, Nvidia's earnings report beat initial expectations for revenue and earnings per share in the third quarter, but the revenue outlook for the current quarter fell short of the highest expectations, leading to a decline in after-hours stock prices. This dragged the Nikkei 225 index down by 0.85%, while the KOSPI index also closed down by 0.07%.
The Taiwan stock market closed down over a hundred points, narrowly holding onto the support of the quarterly moving average. Electronic blue-chip stocks performed weakly, with TSMC opening lower at NT$1,020 and closing at NT$1,010, down 1.46%. Hon Hai, Delta Electronics, UMC, ASE Technology Holding, and MediaTek also closed in the red. AI concept stocks were mixed, affected by Nvidia's guidance not meeting high market expectations, which impacted the computer and peripheral equipment index that opened lower. Although it briefly turned positive during the session, it still closed slightly down. Shenda hit the upper limit, while Inventec rose over 4%. LightOn, MSI, Adata, and Advantech closed in the green, while Qisda and Wistron were relatively weak, both falling over 2%.
Taiwan Glass surged over 8% on strong volume, boosting the glass and ceramics index, which rose 6.68%, making it the strongest sector of the day. The construction materials sector also performed well, with Sakura Construction hitting the upper limit, and Huangxiang and Huajian rising over 8% and 5%, respectively. Changhong, Jingcheng, Hsing Fu Fa, Guande, Dali, and Aishanlin also performed well. Shipping stocks generally rose, with the three major container shipping companies closing in the green, gaining between 1% and 2%. Yumin, Evergreen Marine, Longde Shipbuilding, and Hwa Yang-KY also rose over 1%. However, the "Four Kings" of Formosa Plastics all closed in the red, dragging down the plastics and oil and gas sectors, which saw relatively deeper declines. Financial and insurance stocks also fell, with Yongfeng Financial, Shanghai Commercial & Savings Bank, Fubon Financial, Mega Financial, and Cathay Financial all experiencing declines of over 1%.
Regarding the movements of the three major institutional investors, today they collectively sold NT$19.604 billion: proprietary traders sold NT$1.815 billion, investment trusts bought NT$8.563 billion, and foreign and mainland investors sold NT$26.352 billion.
