Taiwan's stock market closed at a record high and is now within striking distance of the 50,000 mark — great news for investors, especially anyone holding chip and AI-related shares.

• The index jumped more than 1,200 points in one day, led by TSMC, which touched an all-time high before closing up sharply.
• Weak US jobs data cooled fears of more Fed rate hikes, which lit a fire under Asian markets on Monday.
• Big tech names joined in: MediaTek climbed back above 5,000, and circuit-board makers like Taiwan Union Technology and Gold Circuit hit their daily limit-up.
• Not everything rose — memory chip makers and raw-materials stocks lagged, and UMC opened high then fell hard despite its AI push.
• Trading volume was huge, a sign there is plenty of money still flowing in.

Outlook: October earnings calls — TSMC's on the 15th above all — will decide whether the buying holds up long enough to push the index past 50,000.