Taiwan stocks edged up 0.08 percent on Friday as gains on Wall Street sparked hopes of rising demand for local tech suppliers, with LCD maker Chi Mei climbing on its upbeat forecast for the fourth quarter.
The main TAIEX share index rose as much as 0.7 percent by midday before late profit-taking kicked in. It ended at 7,086.74 with modest turnover of T$85.86 billion ($2.59 billion). The electronics sub-index jumped 0.53 percent as Taiwan's tech industry relies on the US market as their biggest export destination.
For next week, however, Huang said the TAIEX could decline as the US GDP data, due out on Friday night, will be weak and some technology companies gave weak guidance for the fourth quarter.
Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp, Taiwan's second-largest LCD maker, gained 0.88 percent. The firm announced its second straight quarterly loss amid falling screen prices but expected to return to profit in the current quarter.
Financials edged 0.39 percent lower. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC), the world's top contact chip maker, rose 1.63 percent after reporting a 32 percent rise in third-quarter profits as demand recovered after last year's chip glut.
TSMC forecast fourth-quarter sales and margins will fall from the third quarter, but investors have mostly priced that in and looked for a possible recovery in mid-2007. Acer Inc rose 2.83 percent after the world's No 4 PC vendor posted a 40 percent rise in nine-month net profit.