Fed Holds Rates Steady, U.S. Stocks Rise for Third Day
U.S. stocks closed higher across all four major indexes on Wednesday the 28th, rising for a third consecutive trading day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 97.53 points, or 0.19%, to close at 52475.10; the Nasdaq rose 72.04 points, or 0.27%, to close at 26549.85; the S&P 500 rose 21.38 points, or 0.28%, to close at 7743.98; the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surged 201.49 points, or 1.75%, to close at 11684. The FOMC voted 10 to 2 to keep the federal funds rate target range at 3.75% to 4%, in line with market expectations. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, markets had priced in a nearly 93% chance of no change before the meeting.
Fed Chair Warsh reiterated his determination to fight inflation, stressing that employment conditions remain quite positive, but did not clearly signal whether there will be another rate hike in December. He said that even with this pause, the Fed remains focused on price stability, and stressed officials have made clear they stand ready to act as conditions warrant. Warsh also announced the Fed will gradually adjust its meeting schedule, planning rate-decision votes at seven of eight meetings next year. Oracle surged 10.73% to close at $144.54 on its long-term revenue outlook, with the company forecasting revenue of $2250 billion in fiscal 2030 2250, helping restore investment confidence in technology stocks.
Taiwan Stocks Rebound 939 Points, Weak Night Session Adds Uncertainty
Taiwan stocks rebounded strongly yesterday on the 28th, with the weighted index surging 939.35 points, or 2.04%, to close at 47035.58 on turnover of 7221.4亿元. The three major institutional investors net bought 324.4亿元 combined, including 159.6亿元 by foreign investors, 143.2亿元 by investment trusts, and 21.7亿元 by dealers, with government funds also net buying 8.9亿元. However, Taiwan stock index futures fell 128 points in the night session, and TSMC futures fell 1 in after-hours trading, diverging from gains in U.S. stocks and adding uncertainty to today's open.
On the positioning front, margin financing rose 8.913亿元 yesterday, showing active retail inflows that help support near-term buying, but volatility could intensify if chase-buying momentum fades. Foreign investors still held 84,917 net short open interest in futures, down 1,126 contracts, showing futures hedges remain high even as foreign investors bought in the cash market. Analyst Wang Chun-sheng of Lunyuan Investment Consulting believes Taiwan stocks rebounded strongly after testing the quarterly moving average, with today's focus on semiconductor supply chain, memory, low-orbit satellite, robotics, PCB, IC design, and plastics groups, and investors can weed out weak holdings while buying quality stocks on dips in batches.
Memory Leads Gains, Taiwan Stocks Focus on Defending 47,000
U.S. semiconductor and memory groups performed strongly, with AMD up 3.24%, Broadcom up 2.77%, and Applied Materials up 5.07%, while Nvidia fell 1.17% and Qualcomm fell 0.65%. Memory buying was strong, with Micron surging 5.86%, Western Digital up 4.08%, SanDisk up 7.66%, and Seagate up 4.51%, while SK Hynix ADRs soared 13.30%. SK Hynix surged on a sixth consecutive quarter of record revenue and operating profit, plus strong DRAM and high-bandwidth memory demand. Among large tech stocks, Alphabet rose 1.34% and Amazon rose 0.59%, while Apple fell 0.94%, Meta fell 1.24%, and Microsoft fell 0.06%.
Overall, consecutive U.S. gains and strength in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index support Taiwan stocks in extending the rally, with memory and related supply chains as key indicators, and heavyweights such as TSMC critical to whether the rebound can continue. Investors can watch whether TSMC, memory, and AI-related groups continue to attract funds, and whether the broader market can hold the 47000 level and avoid chasing after the sharp short-term rally.