Taipei, June 10 (CNA) Contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) took the ninth spot in terms of the market cap of its American depositary receipts (ADRs) in the global market on Monday, after overtaking Berkshire Hathaway Inc., run by U.S. investment guru Warren Buffett, according to data released by companiesmarketcap.
Amid optimism over on-going negotiations between the United States and China in London, the tech-heavy Nasdaq index rose 0.31 percent and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index gained 1.96 percent overnight.
In line with a rally by U.S. tech stocks, TSMC's ADRs gained 0.89 percent on Monday to close at US$207, boosting the market cap of its ADRs to US$1.07 trillion, surpassing US$1.06 trillion claimed by Berkshire Hathaway shares, which fell 0.04 percent to end at US$493.33 in the day.
In the wake of the strong showing of semiconductor stocks in the United States overnight, TSMC shares on the local main board rose 3.98 percent to end at NT$1,045.00 (US$34.84) on Tuesday, the highest closing level since Feb. 6, when the stock ended at NT$1,060.00.
The gains of TSMC, the most heavily weighted stock on the local market, contributed about 322 points to the rise of the Taiex, the weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, which ended trading up 2.07 percent, at 22,242.14, jumping over high technical hurdles ahead of the 120-day moving average of 22,010 points.
The rally of TSMC pushed up the stock's market cap in Taiwan by NT$1.03 trillion in one session to NT$27.09 trillion.
MasterLink Securities analyst Tom Tang said TSMC is still traded at a relatively low price to earnings multiple of 17-18, compared with 31-32 recorded by American artificial intelligence Nvidia Corp., adding there is room for TSMC to play catch-up and move higher as global demand for AI applications stays strong.
However, Tang noted that TSMC could see the nearest technical resistance when it moves closer to NT$1,100.00, the closing level on Feb. 18.
According to MasterLink Securities, TSMC is forecast to rake in about NT$59 in earnings per share in 2025, compared with NT$45.25 recorded in 2024.
MasterLink Securities' forecast represented a downgrade from its earlier estimate of NT$61-62 for 2025, by taking account of the impact resulting from a stronger Taiwan dollar against the U.S. dollar.
TSMC has said whenever the Taiwan dollar appreciates against the greenback by 1 percent, its gross margin -- the difference between revenue and cost of goods sold -- falls by 0.4 percentage points.
