Asustek Shares Rise 2% as Taiwan Stocks Rocket 1,500 Points on TSMC Record Dividend Ahead of Asus Earnings

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Shares of Asustek Computer Inc. rose 2% on Wednesday as Taiwan's stock market posted one of its biggest single-day point gains on record. Contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. led the rally.

Asustek, the PC brand known as Asus, closed up 2.04% at NT$902.00, a gain of NT$18. The stock traded between NT$880 and NT$904 during the session.

The gain came a day before Asus is scheduled to report third-quarter results on Thursday.

Taiex surges

Taiwan's benchmark Taiex rose 1,545.23 points, or 3.62%, to close at 44,257.15, its high for the day. It was the sixth-largest single-session point gain in the index's history, according to Taiwan's Central News Agency.

Turnover totaled NT$849.17 billion ($25.78 billion).

The market has rebounded about 4,555 points since Taiwan's National Financial Stabilization Fund announced market intervention on Friday, after a sharp selloff in technology stocks.

TSMC leads the way

TSMC shares gained 4.81% to close at NT$2,395. The chipmaker accounts for more than 40% of the Taiex's total market value and contributed about 880 points to Wednesday's gain.

TSMC's board approved a record cash dividend of NT$9 per share for third-quarter earnings, up from NT$7 for the second quarter. The company also reported record October consolidated sales, up almost 60% from a year earlier.

"The October sales reflected robust global demand for AI applications," said Alex Huang, an analyst at Mega International Investment Services.

"After the National Financial Stabilization Fund announced market intervention Friday, market sentiment improved," Huang said. "Today, the financial sector also attracted strong buying."

Huang warned that TSMC could face technical resistance near NT$2,450. He said the broader index could see a pullback as it approaches its 20-day moving average of about 45,144 points.

Tech stocks broadly higher

The electronics index rose 3.98%. AI chip designer Alchip Technologies jumped 6.73%, MediaTek rose 4.18% and United Microelectronics gained 3.48%. Power management solutions provider LITE-ON Technology rose 2.36%.

The financial index rose 2.46%. Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of NT$766.44 million of shares on the main board.

The rally followed strong results from U.S. AI cloud provider CoreWeave and a rebound in global chip stocks.

Asus outlook

Asustek makes laptops, desktop computers, motherboards, graphics cards, smartphones and servers. It has been expanding its AI server business as global demand for AI infrastructure grows.

Investors will watch the earnings report for signs of how rising memory chip costs are affecting PC margins, and for updates on Asus' AI server growth.

The stock has gained about 36% over the past 52 weeks, but remains below its 52-week high of NT$1,030. It had slipped about 5.7% over the five sessions ending Monday.

Thirteen analysts covering the stock have an average price target of NT$1,053.33, according to MarketScreener data. Their consensus rating is Outperform.

Asustek has a market value of about NT$670 billion.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.