TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan's stock market is the best-performing in the Asia-Pacific region so far this year due to optimism in artificial intelligence (AI).
Taiwan's Weighted Index, also known as the TAIEX, has risen by 28% this year on the back of stocks tied to the AI value chain, reported CNBC. This rise has been led by a 105% spike in Foxconn stock and a 63% increase in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) shares in the first six months.
CNBC cited Rahul Ghosh, global equity portfolio specialist at asset management company T. Rowe Price, saying, “The performance of global markets this year has been largely driven by the themes of artificial intelligence and central bank policy, and that is likely to continue."
Ghosh predicted that the “potential and scale of the AI investment cycle” will continue to spur global economic growth. He said that the influence of investments in AI is spreading to other sectors such as industrials, materials, and utilities.
In second place in the Asia-Pacific region is Japan's benchmark index Nikkei 225, more commonly called the Nikkei Stock Average, which climbed by 19% in the first half of this year. In February, the Nikkei set a 34-year record breaking the previous mark of 38,915.87 on Dec. 29, 1989.
It broke the 40,000 barrier on March 22 and closed at an all-time high of 40,888.43. Although Taiwan is leading the pack in Asia, CNBC cited analysts predicting Japan will be the “favored market going forward.”
Thailand's composite stock market index the SET Index has seen the largest drop in the region this year at 8%. The Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) Composite has dipped by 2.88% this year, while the Philippine Stock Exchange Index or PSEi is down slightly by 0.6%.
