Taiwan stocks advanced to a one-month high on Thursday, with big semiconductor shares like United Microelectronics Corp extending the last session's sharp rise thanks to strong gains in US counterparts.
The TAIEX share index added 17.31 points, or 0.29 percent, to close at 5,988.37 for its highest finish since October 11, and probed above the 6,000 mark in intraday trade.
United Microelectronics was the most active issue and jumped 4.51 percent to T$18.55, adding to Wednesday's 3.8 percent jump after the US Philadelphia semiconductor index rose 1.41 percent.
The broader TAIEX rose 2.08 percent in the previous session.
"Yesterday's strong advance has encouraged market sentiment, and the Philadelphia semiconductor index also performed well," said Kevin Lin, asset manager at Shinkong Investment Trust.
Market turnover was busy at T$85.91 billion, up from T$82.75 billion on Wednesday, and well above sluggish trade of less than T$55 billion per day in the first two sessions of the week.
United Microelectronics' main competitor, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, was up 1.08 percent at T$55.90 after major client Broadcom Corp raised its fourth-quarter revenue growth and margin forecasts.
Taiwan Co-operative Bank lost 2.16 percent and Farmers Bank of China dipped 0.63 percent, giving up some of the previous two sessions' sharp advances, which had been fuelled by a merger deal between the two state-run firms.
Personal computer chipset maker Silicon Integrated Systems, a play favoured by domestic fund managers because it has benefited from supply shortages at competitor Intel Corp this year, added 1.93 percent to T$21.55 and was the second most active issue.
Network equipment maker Accton Technology Corp surged 5.86 percent to close at T$13.55 after launching a telephone that uses Internet call service Skype, which the market sees as a promising new product.