Taiwan stocks shook off a 4-session losing streak to end 3.12 percent higher on Wednesday, their biggest gain in two weeks, as tech shares like Hon Hai rose due to sharp gains on Wall Street and easing oil prices.
The main TAIEX share index closed up 212.84 points at 7,026.24, boosted by a Wall Street rally that saw the major indexes rise nearly 3 percent after the Fed signalled it was in no rush to raise interest rates.
Trading was busier at T$115 billion ($3.7 billion) from T$99.5 billion in the previous session, paving the way for the main index to rebound to 8,000 points later this month, said Tu Jih-lung, president of Grand Cathay Investment Services. Tu expected the TAIEX to trade between 6,800-7,200 points this week.
Shares of Hon Hai Precision jumped 4.05 percent, after the electronics maker unveiled several major plans to invest more than T$100 billion on the island. Another newspaper quoted the TechCrunch industry Web site as saying that Hon Hai's Foxconn unit would raise its annual 3G iPhone production capacity to 40 million units, well above industry expectations for 25 million.
ASE, the world's top microchip packaging firm, rose 2.63 percent after the company posted an annual fall of 6 percent in its second-quarter net profit as slower chip demand squeezed margins. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world's top contract chip maker, surged 6.14 percent and LCD maker AU Optronics rose by its daily 7 percent limit, lifting the electronics sub-index by 4.18 percent.
Siliconware, the world's No 3 microchip packaging company, closed up 6.68 percent minutes before the company posted a better-than-expected T$2.41 billion profit in the second quarter. Fubon Financial, the island's No 5 financial holding firm, climbed 3.86 percent, lifting the broader banking and insurance sub-index 2.95 percent.