Taiwan stocks hit one-month closing high

Taiwan stocks rose 0.98 percent on Tuesday to a one-month closing high, as tech shares including Mediatek Inc and smartphone maker HTC Corp rose on better-than-expected second-quarter earnings. The main TAIEX share index closed 65.31 points higher at 6,715.22, its highest finish since June 6. Turnover was moderate as shares worth T$128 billion ($3.88 billion) changed hands, slightly more than the T$104 billion recorded on Monday.
"Major technology sectors, especially chip design, gained today to pull the main board up and make it one of the best performers among global stock markets," said Alan Tseng, a vice-president of Yuanta Securities. MediaTek Inc, Taiwan's largest chip designer, rose 5.06 percent after reporting better-than-expected second-quarter revenue. The company said sales for June totalled T$8.9 billion ($270 million), up more than 30 percent from last year.
MediaTek shares have nearly doubled since the beginning of this year, largely on the back of greater demand for the company's chips in China. HTC Corp, the world's fourth-largest smartphone brand, jumped 3.25 percent after it reported second-quarter earnings that beat expectations on Monday, as a line of new products helped cushion it from the economic slow down. Mediatek and HTC were the session's two most actively traded shares by turnover.
The semiconductor sub-index was the top gainer within the tech industry, rising 2.6 percent, with sector leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC), up 1.84 percent. LED (light-emitting diode) related shares also gained on expectations of stronger demand from China. LED chip suppliers Epistar and Formosa Epixtaxy jumped 4.41 percent and 6.87 percent, respectively.
AU Optronics Corp, the island's top LCD maker, gained 0.59 percent on expectations that demand for panels used in flat-screen televisions and computer monitors could rise. The financial sub-index also climbed, led by China Development Financial, which surged 5.73 percent after a local newspaper said that it had sold its 19.51 percent stake in the Taipei 101 building worth T$3.735 billion.