Taiwan Weekly Kickstart: TAIEX rose 2% to a record close above 48k, led by large-cap Tech and supported by foreign buying, despite higher oil prices and US yields, with Financials and most domestic sectors falling

TAIEX rose 2% to a record close above 48k, led by large-cap Tech and supported by foreign buying, despite higher oil prices and US yields, with Financials and most domestic sectors falling. Performance: TAIEX/MXTW +1.8%/+1.9%, outperforming MXAPJ by 0.6pp. Tech Semis (others +5%, TSMC +0.6%) and Hardware (+3.5%) led gains, while Property (-4%), Banks (-2%) and Consumer sectors (-1%) lagged. USDTWD stayed at 31.8. Flows: QFIIs were net buyers of US$1.7bn in cash equities, concentrated in ex-TSMC Tech (+US$1.4bn), while selling most non-Tech sectors and increasing net short futures positions by US$2.0bn. Local funds were net sellers of US$740mn, primarily in Tech. Retail investors were net sellers of US$1.2bn in cash equities but increased margin balances and net long futures positions. ETF flows were muted, with inflows into Dividend (+US$600mn) and Broad Market ETFs (+US$500mn) offset by outflows from Leveraged (-US$600mn) and Active ETFs (-US$400mn). Hedge fund flows: Taiwan saw flat