Taiwan stocks rose 1.78 percent on Thursday to their highest close in 4-1/2 months as a rally in the US Dow Jones to an all-time closing peak triggered widespread buying, including in technology heavyweights like TSMC.
The main TAIEX ended up 122.26 points at 6,997.24, recouping all the ground it lost in the previous session. Turnover was active at T$113.36 billion ($3.42 billion) as investors put aside worries over a domestic political stand-off. Taiwan's financial markets will be closed from Friday to Tuesday for a local holiday. They reopen on Wednesday.
The world's top contract chip maker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC), jumped 3.76 percent, leading the electronics sub-index 2.12 percent higher. TSMC's September sales are due out on Monday. Financials rose 1.39 percent, led by a 6.37 percent gain in Hsinchu International Bank after Standard Chartered said last week it had agreed to buy the small Taiwan bank.
Novatek Microelectronics Corp, which supplies driver chips for displays, jumped 3.08 percent. A company director told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday that its unit shipments hit a record in the third quarter and forecast strong growth for the full year. On the non-tech sectors, steel shares were major winners on hopes that rising product prices would boost earnings. Chien Shing Stainless Steel Co Ltd shot up 1.96 percent.
Uni-President Enterprise Corp gained 1.67 percent after the island's biggest food conglomerate told Reuters that it would re-focus on the China market following its landmark naming as official instant noodle of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.