Taiwan stocks up

Taiwan stocks gained 1.3 percent on Friday, mainly supported by higher global markets amid relief the Federal Reserve was in no rush to start hiking interest rates. As of 0154 GMT, the main TAIEX index rose 112.12 points to 8,990.75, after closing up 0.57 percent on Thursday. Also supporting sentiment was the as expected results of Taiwan's quarterly rate-setting meeting by its central bank late Thursday, in which key interest rates stayed put for the 14th straight quarter.
Central bank Governor Perng Fai-nan expressed cautious optimism for the domestic economy, saying inflation should remain mild and low oil prices should spur global growth, which would be a positive for the trade reliant economy. The electronics subindex was up 1.7 percent, the narrower semiconductor subindex was 2.5 percent higher, while the financial subindex was 1 percent higher. Among actively traded counters, shares in chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp rose 2.9 percent, while those in container ship operator Evergreen Marine Corp Taiwan Ltd were 3.4 percent higher.