Taiwan's stock trading accounts rose to a record 14.827mn at the end of October, an increase of 64,000 in a single month, Focus Taiwan reported on November 2, citing Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) data.

The growth comes in a year when the Taiex, the exchange's main index, has gained 55.81%, or 16,195.15 points, closing at 45,211.83 on October 30. Electronics stocks, the market's heavyweight sector, have driven the rally on strong demand tied to artificial intelligence.

The benchmark came close to 50,000 points at the start of October. It then retreated steeply as AI-related shares sold off worldwide.

Younger people made up most of the new sign-ups. Investors aged 30 or younger opened 56.3% of the accounts created in October. The exchange said the figures pointed to a continuing move towards a younger shareholder base on the island.

Accounts held by people under 20 reached 907,350, up 16,472 from September. Investors aged 20 to 30 held 1.95mn accounts after adding 19,694. Those aged 31 to 40 held 2.4mn, an increase of 9,937.

Older groups added fewer accounts. People aged 41 to 50 had 2.75mn accounts, 9,353 more than a month earlier, and those between 51 and 60 held 2.42mn, a gain of 5,550. Investors over 60 remained the largest group with 4.28mn accounts but added only 1,944.

Institutional investors held 12,013 trading accounts at the end of October, up 1,218 from the previous month, according to the TWSE.