Taiwan Stocks Post Record Point Gain as AI Outlook Holds

Taiwan, South Korea and Japan have faced sharp swings as crowded positions in AI-linked heavyweights and leveraged products unwind. SinoPac Securities senior strategist Chen Hung-jui said South Korea’s circuit-breaker events reflected speculative inflows into individual stocks and leveraged ETFs, followed by margin-driven selling when large-cap shares retreated, rather than weakening semiconductor fundamentals. Demand for AI computing upgrades and high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, remains a key medium- to long-term driver for the regional technology supply chain.

On July 21, Taiwan’s benchmark index surged a record 1,783.17 points, or 4.20%, to close at 44,232.87 and reclaim its quarterly moving average. Turnover nevertheless fell to NT$835.6 billion. Late gains in TSMC and a limit-up rally in MediaTek helped drive the rebound. Taiwan’s three major institutional investor groups bought a net NT$16.407 billion, while foreign investors sold NT$4.331 billion. South Korea’s KOSPI gained more than 4%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose about 1,700 points intraday.