Taiwan’s Taiex jumps 4.94% as chip rebound splits Asia

By Rebecca Stone

Taiwan’s Taiex closed Monday at 41,661.70, up 1,960.06 points or 4.94%, as investors bought back chip stocks battered in the previous week’s AI sell-off. Turnover reached NT$837.93 billion. The index rose as much as 6.4% during the session and ended a seven-session losing streak, its longest since 2022.

TSMC closed 4.7% higher, according to the Associated Press, while Hon Hai Precision, known as Foxconn, gained more than 8% during the trading day. Taiwan led. Seoul did not follow.

What changed under Taiwan’s short-selling curbs?

Taiwan’s regulator had cut permitted intraday short-selling volume to 3% of a stock’s 30-session average daily volume, down from 30%. It also raised the short-selling margin requirement to 130% from 90%. Those curbs took effect last week after the Taiex’s slide, while authorities said the NT$500 billion ($15.2 billion) stabilization fund remained available.

The curbs applied before Monday’s buying. The index’s retreat from a 6.4% intraday gain showed how quickly sentiment could reverse.

Why did Seoul lag?

South Korea’s Kospi surrendered a morning gain of more than 1.5% to finish 0.8% lower at 5,018.85. Foreign investors net sold 658 billion won of shares. The Korea Times tied that selling to concerns about tighter U.S. AI regulation following the Democrats’ Nov. 3 midterm wins.

SK Hynix rose as much as 4.8% and Samsung Electronics about 2.7% before most of their gains faded. SK Hynix closed up 0.35% at about 1.14 million won; Samsung closed up 0.64% at 189,900 won. Both stocks had lost more than 16% the previous week.

A South Korean science ministry official said contracted Nvidia GPU deliveries to Korea should proceed without disruption. That assurance came against the backdrop of the 658 billion won in foreign selling and the regulatory concerns cited by The Korea Times.

What does Nvidia’s investigation mean for the AI trade?

Nvidia’s board opened an independent investigation after reports that CEO Jensen Huang had a relationship with a woman whom U.S. intelligence agencies reportedly believe is a Chinese spy. Huang apologized to staff and remains CEO.

The board said it had "no reason to believe Nvidia secrets or U.S. national security had been compromised." Nvidia shares traded in Frankfurt were more than 6% lower in early European trading. The probe kept a lid on the AI trade across the region, even as Taiwan’s chipmakers staged their comeback.

How did Japan, Hong Kong and Shanghai finish?

Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed up 2.3% at 58,775.50. Tokyo Electron gained 2.8% and Advantest 1.3%, although both gave back larger early advances, while SoftBank Group fell 4.2%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.1% to 24,507.83, and the Shanghai Composite gained 0.3% to 3,660.79. Those advances left Taiwan clearly ahead on the day, but the regional picture remained split rather than broad-based.

What could test the rebound next?

At 2:33 a.m. ET, Dow futures were up 375 points, or 0.73%; S&P 500 futures were up 0.42%, and Nasdaq 100 futures 0.18%, after opening lower on Sunday night. The S&P 500 had fallen 2.7% last week despite a 0.3% gain on Friday.

U.S. consumer price data arrives Tuesday. CoreWeave, Cisco and Applied Materials report earnings this week. The next test is whether Monday’s buying can hold as investors weigh U.S. AI-regulation concerns, Korean foreign selling and the unresolved Nvidia board review.