Taiwan’s benchmark stock index surged to its highest intraday level on record, as expectations of booming demand for artificial intelligence (AI) technology drives investor sentiment.

The Taiex jumped as much as 3.5%, surpassing a January 2022 peak, as the market reopened after more than a week-long Lunar New Year holiday. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) - the nation’s largest stock and the key provider of foundry services for Nvidia Corp - climbed as much as 9.8% to a record high.

TSMC, which has a weighting of around 30% in the Taiex, reported during the holiday that its January sales rose 7.9% from a year ago. Strong demand for AI chips helped offset continued weakness in consumer electronics products.

An inflow of cash from international investors has helped push the index to its all-time high. Foreign funds have bought Taiwan stocks on a net basis for three consecutive months through January, the longest streak since 2019.

  - Bloomberg