Taiwan Stocks Rebound from Intraday Lows as PCB and AI Supply-Chain Shares Draw Attention

Highlights

Taiwan’s weighted index opened lower and recovered during the session, ultimately closing down 289.18 points at 46822.08 on turnover of 8251.01億. The long lower shadow and retreat from an early loss of more than 900 points suggested that buyers appeared near the seasonal moving-average support, even as foreign investors and proprietary traders continued selling. Semiconductor and AI-related prospects remained a counterweight to market caution. TSMC outlined strong demand for advanced processes, while PCB-related shares attracted attention. The article’s central observation is that funds appeared to rotate toward companies linked to AI servers, high-end PCBs, and tangible order demand rather than exit the market altogether.

Sentiment Analysis

• The market tone is mixed: the index fell 289.18 points, and foreign investors sold 767.42億元, while proprietary traders sold 362.63億元. These figures indicate continued near-term pressure and caution.


• There are stabilizing signals in the intraday pattern. After falling more than 900 points, the index recovered from around seasonal moving-average support and finished with a lower shadow of 652.08 points. The report interprets this as evidence of buying interest at lower levels, although it does not establish a lasting reversal.


• Institutional positioning is divided. Investment trusts bought 230.50億元 and had bought for seven consecutive sessions, while foreign investors and proprietary traders remained net sellers. Policy-linked buying in the earlier period described in the report is also presented as a potential buffer.


• Fundamentals around AI, advanced manufacturing, and high-end PCB products lend a cautiously constructive outlook. The discussion of TSMC’s forecasts and selected PCB companies is positive, but risks include AI investment payback concerns, oil and inflation pressures, and supply or raw-material uncertainties.

Article Text

Taiwan’s weighted stock index opened lower and moved upward during the session, ending down 289.18 points at 46822.08. Turnover was 8251.01億, and the index recorded a lower shadow of 652.08 points. At one stage, the market had fallen by more than 900 points, but losses narrowed after the index tested support near its seasonal moving average. The report describes the session as a lower-volume consolidation following a strong advance, while noting that the recovery alone does not resolve uncertainty about the market’s near-term direction.

Institutional flows were mixed. Foreign investors recorded net sales of 767.42億元, investment trusts recorded net purchases of 230.50億元, and proprietary traders recorded net sales of 362.63億元. The three groups together were net sellers of 899.54億元. Foreign investors had sold for nine consecutive sessions and proprietary traders for eight, whereas investment trusts had bought for seven consecutive sessions, with cumulative purchases of 1149億元. The contrast suggests that institutional investors were not acting as a single group, and that the market remained subject to substantial selling pressure.

The report also points to external market headwinds. U.S. technology shares weakened the previous Friday amid concern about the scale of artificial-intelligence capital spending, rising corporate financing costs, and increasing competition from China. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.34%, the S&P 500 fell 1.09%, the Nasdaq fell 2.14%, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped 3.83%. CoreWeave (CRWV-US) fell 11.91%, bringing its weekly decline to 25%. Meta (META-US) lost 3.72%, Alphabet (GOOGL-US) fell 2.47%, Microsoft (MSFT-US) dropped 1.93%, and Amazon (AMZN-US) declined 1.87%. Apple (AAPL-US) gained 0.43%, making it a notable exception among the technology shares discussed.

On the domestic side, the report says Taiwan’s central bank issued an unusual intraday statement emphasizing the New Taiwan dollar’s relative stability among Asian currencies. It said it would continue monitoring foreign capital flows and could intervene when necessary to maintain orderly currency movements. The report associates the statement with a narrowing of the stock market’s losses. It also cites purchases by eight government-linked financial institutions over eight consecutive trading sessions from 10月6日至16日, totaling 1,164.05億元, as a source of potential support. At the same time, possible effects from Middle East tensions on oil prices and inflation remain risks.

Artificial-intelligence demand and semiconductor investment form another part of the market outlook. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC, 台積電, 2330-TW) reported third-quarter after-tax net income of 7,630.64億元, up 8% quarter over quarter, and earnings per share of 29.43元, described as a new quarterly high. The company projected fourth-quarter U.S.-dollar revenue growth of 14% quarter over quarter and 2026 full-year revenue growth of 44%. It also described strong demand for advanced processes and continued interest in its A14 process. In the separately detailed company discussion, third-quarter revenue was 1兆4,942億元, up 50.9% year over year; after-tax net income was 7,631億元, up 68.7%; and fourth-quarter revenue guidance was US$523億至543億. Full-year capital expenditure was maintained at US$600億至640億. The article presents these forecasts as support for the longer-term AI computing and high-performance computing outlook, while retaining uncertainty about investment returns.

Other large companies mentioned include Hon Hai (鴻海, 2317-TW), which fell 1.84% to 239.5元. It announced that a subsidiary would invest US$5.37億, approximately 新台幣173.6億元, to acquire ordinary shares in Q-Edge Corporation, keeping its holding at 100% after the transaction. Cumulative investment would reach US$5.752億. The article connects this move with U.S. manufacturing and AI-server capacity. MediaTek (聯發科, 2454-TW) fell 1.06% to 4205元. The report discusses possible AI-chip cooperation with ByteDance, with development activity expected to begin in 2027, tape-out in 2028, and volume production in 2029. It states that annual demand of 100萬顆 could represent US$200億至250億 in revenue, while also noting potential smartphone supply-chain opportunities and memory-cost pressures.

PCB-related companies are presented as an area drawing attention as investors seek businesses tied to orders and industrial demand. The report identifies AI servers, high-speed transmission, high-end PCBs, IC substrates, and advanced packaging as relevant themes. The 2026 Taiwan Circuit Board Industry International Exhibition (TPCA Show) was scheduled to begin on 10月20日, with equipment and component suppliers expected to display drilling, forming, laser-processing, automation, and advanced-process equipment. It names Eastar Machine Tools (東台, 4526-TW) and EnDau Development (恩德, 1528-TW) among exhibitors, and highlights PCB drill-bit maker Kai Wei (凱崴, 5498-TW), which reached the daily limit and a new period high, according to the source.

The company-specific discussion says Kai Wei benefited from AI-server and high-speed optical communications demand. Its 2026 second-quarter revenue was 5.8億元, up 30% quarter over quarter and 74% year over year; gross margin rose to 17%, and operating profit increased 742% year over year. Monthly production capacity was about 2,000萬 pieces, with planned capacity of 2,500萬 by the end of 2026 and 4,000萬 by the end of 2027. The article notes that tungsten-price increases and high-end material supply remain uncertainties. It also describes HANNSTAR Board (瀚宇博, 5469-TW) as a PCB company whose products serve PC/NB motherboards, networking equipment, and servers. Revenue reportedly increased year over year from 2026年5月至9月; September growth was 36.25%, and monthly revenue reached a record high.

The broader assessment is that Taiwan equities were in a phase of position adjustment, with support near the seasonal moving average worth watching. The week’s events, including technology and AIoT exhibitions, Taiwan industrial and circuit-board events, NVIDIA GTC Berlin 2026, and index-futures settlement, could influence expectations and positioning. The article favors evaluating individual companies by fundamentals, technical conditions, and capital flows, while recognizing that market volatility and company-specific risks remain. Its outlook is cautiously constructive rather than unequivocally bullish: possible stabilization and structural AI demand coexist with persistent institutional selling and macroeconomic uncertainty.

Key Insights Table