Is Taiwan's stock market money flooding the streets? The search interest for "retirement" on Google Taiwan hits a new high. Does the shoe-shiner theory still apply?

Taiwan stocks surged past 42,156 points driven by AI and TSMC, with Google “retirement” search popularity reaching a 5-year high. However, while the market is booming, concerns about the shoe-shiner theory have also arisen.

Taiwan Google Retirement Search Popularity Rises, Taiwan Stocks Continuously Hit New Highs

Has Taiwan’s money flooded into the market? Latest Google trend data shows that the search interest for the keyword “retirement” in Taiwan skyrocketed starting in 2026, reaching a five-year peak.

Over the past five years, the keyword’s popularity mostly hovered between 30 and 50, but recently it broke through and hit the maximum score of 100, with secondary keywords including “labor insurance retirement,” “pension calculation,” and others.

Looking at the latest trend chart of the 0050 index, its stock price has risen to NT$97.70. Compared to the low of NT$48.29 at the end of June 2025, it has surged NT$55.11 in the past year, with a total increase of 129.40%, just one step away from crossing the NT$100 mark.

Today, Taiwan stocks opened higher and continued to rise. Driven by TSMC’s gap-up to a new all-time high, electronic blue-chip stocks like Delta Electronics and United Microelectronics also ignited.

The weighted index once soared over 1,000 points during the session, reaching 42,156 points to set a new record high. By the close, it surged by 794 points, ending at 41,933 points, with a trading volume of NT$1.19 trillion.

The three major institutional investors bought a total of NT$58.3 billion, with funds clearly concentrated in AI and semiconductor stocks. TSMC closed at NT$2,310, contributing about 494 points to the market gain for the day, with a market cap approaching NT$60 trillion, continuing to play the role of the market’s bullish commander.

Benefiting from the AI boom, Asian stock markets keep hitting new highs

The AI craze continues to trigger a surge in supply chain-related stocks. Asian tech giants like Samsung, SK Hynix, and TSMC all reported excellent earnings, pushing Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea stock markets focused on semiconductors and memory to new highs.

Japan’s Nikkei Index, after ending a long holiday, surged 5.58%, breaking through 62,000 points for the first time. The rally was led by basic materials, technology, and financial stocks, with SoftBank’s stock soaring over 13%, and Ibiden, an electronics company, leading with an astonishing 17% increase; South Korea’s Kospi index, although initially up on strong earnings reports, retraced and closed down 0.68%.

The optimistic sentiment in Asian markets is also supported by easing tensions in the Middle East. U.S. President Trump issued warnings prompting Iran to consider accepting a peace agreement. If both sides reach consensus, U.S. military actions will end, and the Strait of Hormuz will reopen, boosting global risk appetite and causing crude oil prices to fall accordingly.

Meanwhile, the stock market guru warns that gambling sentiment is at an all-time high

As global stock markets hit record highs, Warren Buffett, known as the “Oracle of Omaha” and recently retired from Berkshire Hathaway, recently pointed out that the current market gambling sentiment is arguably the strongest in history.

He likened today’s financial markets to “church connected to casinos,” noting that more and more investors are keen on at-the-money options and various prediction markets. This kind of speculation chasing short-term price movements has already decoupled from companies’ real profitability, making many asset prices appear extremely absurd.

• Related report: Warren Buffett warns: Market gambling sentiment is “the strongest in history”! Many asset prices look very absurd

Is the shoe-shiner theory still applicable when money floods into the market?

When Taiwanese people enthusiastically search for retirement keywords and flood into the stock market with the astonishing gains of 0050 and TSMC, many also point out whether the traditional “shoe-shiner theory” is about to be validated.

The shoe-shiner theory means that when even unprofessional, low-skilled workers (like shoe-shiners) are talking about stocks and giving clear signals, it indicates the market is overheated, full of bubbles, and about to peak and crash.

However, this AI-driven stock market frenzy is backed by a large consumer base, massive capital attention, astonishing revenues and expenditures, and real-world applications. Funds are highly concentrated in a few tech giants with absolute advantages, which is quite different from the short-lived speculative booms like NFTs and the metaverse from 2020 to 2022.

Such structural bull markets driven by foundational technological innovation also evoke memories of the early internet bubble, which maintained a bullish trend from 1995 until the peak on March 10, 2000.

However, despite the crazy market, “Crypto City” reminds investors to stay rational and carefully assess potential risks when participating in this capital feast, choosing investment tools prudently to avoid losing money to short-term volatility before even earning it.

Further reading:
Ark Invest’s Woodie: Elderly fear AI bubbles and rumors causing Bitcoin panic, calling for rational judgment among investors