Taiwan Stocks Rebound 1,322 Points as Three ASIC Shares Hit Limits

Taiwan’s benchmark stock index gained 1,321.90 points in Friday’s morning session, reversing its prior-day loss as three custom AI-chip designers hit daily limits one day after Nvidia’s CEO resignation announcement.

At 8:40 p.m. ET Thursday (01:40 UTC Friday), the Taiwan Stock Exchange Weighted Index stood at 44,413.77. It had fallen 1,165.28 points on Nov. 12, before the resignation announcement, so the morning advance more than erased that decline.

Shares of 聯發科, 世芯-KY and 創意 opened at their limit-up prices, reaching 4,235, 4,040 and 8,645 New Taiwan dollars, respectively. 台積電 rose 1.71%. Server makers 鴻海, 廣達 and 緯創 gained 0.83%, 0.90% and 0.59%, respectively.

U.S. markets had closed lower in the preceding session: all four major indexes fell less than 0.6%, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped 0.54%. ASICs are chips designed for specific customers; Google’s TPU is one example, and such chips compete with Nvidia’s general-purpose GPUs. The trading snapshot covered only the market’s first half-hour, so it did not establish a broader change in the industry.