BENGALURU: Taiwan stocks rallied on Friday, posting their best weekly performance in 24 years, as they recovered from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s resignation, which rattled AI stocks and raised broader concerns about the future of the chip sector he led.
Taiwan’s chip-heavy benchmark index closed up 1.4 percent and posted a weekly rise of over 10 percent, its best performance since October 2002. During the week, it gained in all sessions but Thursday as Nvidia’s leadership crisis shook stocks globally.
Taiwan is home to some of Nvidia’s major suppliers, including TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker. TSMC shares, which make up nearly 40 percent of the benchmark index, gained over 10 percent during the week.
South Korean stocks, however, reversed course to end 1 percent lower, but still posted a 4.6 percent weekly gain.
Currencies were largely unchanged after the US dollar slowed its ascent and oil prices were on course for a second weekly decline. Lower oil prices help the currencies of Asian oil importers, which have been weighed down this year by fears of imported inflation.
The Indonesian rupiah reversed course and strengthened to 18,215 per dollar. Asia’s worst performer, the rupiah hit a record low of 18,255 last session, weighed down by the dollar’s gains and domestic political troubles after Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka resigned.
The Philippine peso strengthened to 63.689 while the Taiwan dollar edged up 0.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian ringgit lost 0.2 percent, while the Thai baht weakened to 33.855.
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