Taiwan Stock Market Hits New Records: TAIEX Surges Past 42,100 as Foreign Inflows Top NT$800 Billion
Taiwan's stock market extended its historic rally on Thursday, with the benchmark TAIEX index surging nearly 1,000 points at the open to reach a new all-time high of 42,131 before settling at elevated levels. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) led the charge, its shares hitting a record NT$2,345 after the company's American Depositary Receipts surged 6.36% overnight on Wall Street to close at US$419.50. The rally marked the fourth consecutive session of record-breaking closes and pushed the market's year-to-date gains past 50%.
The drivers behind the surge are multifaceted. US markets provided a powerful tailwind, with the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Philadelphia Semiconductor Index all closing at record highs after AMD delivered blowout earnings and President Trump signaled progress toward a peace deal with Iran that could ease oil price pressures. Domestically, Taiwan's first-quarter GDP posted its strongest growth in 39 years, driven by insatiable global demand for AI chips and infrastructure. Foreign investors poured a record NT$800 billion into Taiwanese equities in April alone, an unprecedented monthly inflow that reflects the market's centrality to the global AI supply chain.
The rally has been broad but uneven. While TSMC anchored the gains, MediaTek — which had surged to NT$2,870 and repeatedly hit its daily limit-up — found itself in an unusual predicament: the Taiwan Stock Exchange placed the NT$5.5 trillion market-cap chip designer into a "disposition measure" requiring five-minute matching intervals, making it the largest stock by market value ever subjected to such trading restrictions. Meanwhile, second-tier semiconductor plays caught fire: Vanguard International Semiconductor hit its daily limit, UMC surged to its highest level in 26 years, and Chroma ATE saw its market capitalization cross the NT$1 trillion threshold for the first time.
The New Taiwan dollar reflected the flood of foreign capital, strengthening past the 31.4 level against the US dollar — its firmest position in months. Trading volume on the main board approached NT$1.5 trillion, the second-highest single-day turnover in history, raising questions about whether the market is overheating. Veteran analyst Wang Jung-hsu acknowledged the momentum but cautioned retail investors against excessive leverage: "Markets don't rise forever." Other analysts pointed to the TAIEX's turnover rate spiking to levels that historically precede corrections, while conceding that TSMC's price-to-earnings ratio remains well within historical averages, suggesting the semiconductor giant at least may have further room to run.
With several major brokerages raising their year-end TAIEX targets to 50,000 points, the question on every investor's mind is not whether the market can go higher, but whether the ascent is sustainable. Economist Wu Chia-lung captured the prevailing sentiment: "Taiwan's stock market, though standing at a historic 42,000 points, has not finished rising yet. TSMC's run is not even close to its peak."