Taiwan shares closed at a 20-month high on Monday, with tech shares rising with their US counterparts, while builders soared on optimism of increasing profits in the fourth-quarter peak season.
The main TAIEX share index finished up 0.34 percent at 6,534.77 points, hitting a 20-month high for a third straight session. The index is now only 40 points away from a closing high of 6,574.75 set on April 28, 2004.
Among the biggest gainers, the bellwether electronics subindex rose 0.31 percent, and the construction subindex surged 4.26 percent.
"A gain in US tech shares, together with hopes that property companies will book their biggest quarterly earnings in the fourth quarter, helped push stocks higher today," said Julian Chen, a fund manager at Invest Taiwan Ltd.
"With the bullish mood in the market, the main index could go up to as high as 6,800 points next month even though there will probably be not that much going on," he said.
Shares worth T$111 billion ($3.35 billion) changed hands slightly down from T$114 billion a session.
Tech stocks rose and accounted for the 10 most actively traded issues by volume and turnover. Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc, the world's largest chip packaging firm, soared 6.16 percent after its American depository receipts (ADR) was up 5.1 percent on Friday.
Smaller rival Siliconware Precision Industries Co soared by the 7 percent daily limit. Topping the most active list by volume was flat display panel maker Quanta Display, which rose 6.05 percent. DVD chip design house Mediated Inc jumped 3.45 percent and was the most active issue by turnover.
Some property stocks jumped the daily 7 percent limit. Highwealth Construction rose to T$26.90, and Prince Housing jumped to T$8.31.
Cathy Financial Holding Co was up 1.18 percent and Shin Kong Financial Holding Co gained 3.15 percent after local media estimated the two firms would include a combined unrealised profit of T$80 billion in their profits, based on a new accounting standard.