TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s stock market index surged 453 points Friday (Jan. 19) after chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) predicted a rebound in business for 2024.

The rise in stock values on the stock market’s weighted index, the Taiex, came at the close of the week following the Jan. 13 election of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Lai Ching-te (賴清德) as Taiwan’s next president. The week started with a modest rise, followed by sharp declines as foreign investors sold off shares.

Friday saw a movement in the opposite direction, with foreign institutional investors buying a net NT$80.1 billion (US$2.55 billion) on the local market, the second-highest figure in history, per Radio Taiwan International (RTI). The stock index closed at 17,681, marking a rise of 168 points for the week beginning Jan. 15.

Analysts said a combination of TSMC and shares from the AI and the semiconductor equipment sectors were behind Friday’s positive performance. Turnover reached more than NT$420 billion, the highest in a month for a single day, the report said.