Taiwan stocks ended up 0.68 percent on Friday at their highest close in more than a year, as technology shares such as Compal Electronics rallied on expectations of stronger sales in the third quarter. The main TAIEX share index finished 48.48 points higher at 7,153.13, its highest close since August 15, 2008.
Turnover was T$137 billion ($4.2 billion), lower than Thursday's T$138 billion but more than last week's daily average of T$89 billion. Compal Electronics, the world's No 2 contract laptop PC maker, surged 6.8 percent to a 16-month high, after analysts told Reuters the firm is expecting strong shipment growth in the current quarter. The computer and peripheral equipment sub-index rose 1.81 percent.
Compal's gain was further boosted by a newspaper report that it plans to increase investment in China. The company will hold it second-quarter investor conference later on Friday. Smartphone maker HTC, the session's most actively traded stock, finished 5.92 percent up at an one-month high, after US telecom operator Sprint Nextel said it plans to sell the firm's Hero cellphone.
There has been little progress on a much-anticipated FTA-like agreement with China, known as the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, deemed crucial to Taiwan's global economic competitiveness. Taiwan stocks have gained more than 56 percent since the beginning of this year, largely due to stronger trade ties with China.
United Microelectronics Corp, the world's second largest contract chip maker and the session's most active share by volume, shot up 5.17 percent after a newspaper reported that its third-quarter profit margin could reach a near two-year high. Another bright spot was Mediatek, Taiwan's top chip designer and supplier, which climbed 2.32 percent after a local newspaper reported Mediatek's chips would be used in Vodafone 's two new cellphone models.
China Steel, Taiwan's top steel maker, dropped 0.5 percent, underperforming the steel and iron sub-index's 0.71 percent fall. Its shares fell even after it raised domestic product prices by 8.6 percent in October-November from September as demand picked up. Automobile makers were the session's top losers, with Yulon Motor down 2.78 percent after a rally in the previous session.
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