Taiwan’s benchmark stock index surged to a record intraday high of 48,601.53 on Tuesday, fueled by momentum in the technology sector. The rally followed a strong performance on Wall Street, which was bolstered by investor enthusiasm over early positive indications regarding Meta’s artificial intelligence agent.
Leading the charge were major semiconductor manufacturers. Shares of MediaTek jumped 7.88%, while Delta Electronics climbed 2.67%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) also rose, gaining 0.40%. These three firms, which constitute the largest companies by market capitalization within the Taiex index, played a pivotal role in pushing the benchmark to its new peak.
This latest high arrives approximately three months after the Taiex last recorded an all-time high in June. Taiwanese equities have demonstrated robust growth throughout the year, largely propelled by the global AI boom and the island nation’s critical position in the worldwide semiconductor and hardware supply chain.
The dominance of technology within the market is stark. According to a July note from Standard Chartered, the technology sector accounts for roughly 88% of the benchmark index, with the majority of that weight belonging to the semiconductor industry. The bank highlighted that Taiwan is responsible for producing more than 90% of the world’s most advanced chips, specifically those measuring 7 nanometers or smaller.
On a global scale, Taiwan’s market significance continues to grow. Data from HSBC tracking global equity-market capitalization rankings in May indicated that Taiwan has surpassed Canada to become the sixth-largest stock market in the world.
Meta’s AI agent driving global chip stocks is a new kind of correlation.
Sixth largest market globally now? Who knew Taiwan had grown so much lately.
TSMC up only 0.4%? Feels like they already priced this in weeks ago.
Surprised it took three months to break the previous record. The momentum is real.
88% tech exposure is extreme. What happens when the AI hype fades?