Taiwan stocks rose 1.47 percent on Friday to their highest close in nearly a month, spurred by Wall Street and Taiwan's central bank meeting expectations with an interest rate increase. Top contract chip maker TSMC and interest rate-sensitive financial issues like Cathay Financial led the way after worries over higher US interest rates eased.
The main TAIEX share index ended up 97.02 points at 6,704.41, adding to a 1.02 percent rise on Thursday. Turnover was active at T$115.80 billion (US $3.57 billion), up from T$91.55 billion the previous session.
"I would say it's an upward trend now and, if foreign investors resume buying after Wall Street's rebound, the advance can last into July and August," said Alvin Teng, assistant research manager at SinoPac Securities. The TAIEX had fallen sharply since early May but it had a strong support at around 6,300 this month.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) rose 3.0 percent after its ADRs shot up 5.85 percent on Thursday. Its gain helped boost the electronics sub-index up 2.21 percent. Among other major winners, LCD screen maker AU Optronics Corp gained 0.77 percent and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, a big exporter of electronics components, finished up 2.56 percent. Cathay Financial added 2.02 percent and rival Shin Kong Financial Holding Co Ltd jumped 0.85 percent, leading the financial sector 1.15 percent higher.