Preface

The stock market today exhibited mixed movements with the weighted index slightly rising by 26.81 points to settle at 23,246.94 points, as trading volume decreased to 301.39 billion. Key market movers today comprised of local funding sources as well as anticipated foreign investments after the holiday break. This article delves into the contributing factors behind the current stock trends and evaluates whether robotics stocks have the potential to sustain their bullish momentum.

Lazy bag

Key takeaways from today's market include the continuous influence of AI on stock movements, driven by local resources. While trading volumes have remained consistently low, the upward trend is still steady, marking positive expectations for the near future.

Main Body

The stock market today closed with the weighted index gaining 26.81 points, landing at 23,246.94 despite a reduction in trading volume to 301.39 billion. Foreign investors made a net purchase of 30.88 billion, followed by proprietary dealers and investment trusts purchasing 18.99 billion and 1.69 billion respectively, marking a collective net buys of 51.56 billion.

U.S. markets were closed on December 25 for Christmas, but on the trading day beforehand, all main indices ended in gains driven by large-cap and growth stocks, underpinning investor confidence in a robust year-end rally. The NASDAQ, boosted by AI-focused themes, exhibited a climb surpassing 30%, positioning it as the top performer among major global indices. Following were Turkey and the Taiwan stock market (TAIEX) which surged around 28%.

In Taiwan, as markets observed the simultaneous U.S. and European holidays, the local stock exchange saw subdued volume but maintained a gradually bullish trend led by local capital dominance. Notably, larger movers experienced pullbacks while previously lagging shares showed upward movement, suggesting a shift in investor strategies toward middle-sized firms and thematic stocks. The weighted index has a roughly 80% probability of climbing within 10 days post-Christmas, making selective stock picking more crucial than broad market trends.

Attention turns to key stocks: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC - 2330-TW) had a session of stability closing at 1,085NTD. According to an analysis by Adam Spatacco for "The Motley Fool", TSMC presently embodies a unique decade-long investment opportunity as its valuation projected at 22.2 price-earnings ratio aligns closely with the S&P 500 index's future projections. This positions TSMC as an undervalued asset with advantageous prospects driven by the accelerated growth in the AI and semiconductor sectors.

Conversely, Foxconn (2317-TW), saw its stock rise by 0.54% to 187.5NTD amidst an interim downtrend due to decreasing revenues and institutional adjustments. Nevertheless, individual investors perceived an opportune buy-in moment amidst price declines, characterized by a surge in individual shareholding accounts as investors anticipate the stock devalued below its intrinsic value based on Taiwan's collective security data findings.

Catering to the upward trajectory were MediaTek (2454-TW), which introduced the Dimensity 8400 chipset, reinforcing AI capabilities for smartphones with its 5G large-core technology, establishing an avant-garde approach to mobile processing power.

Key Insights Table