The Taiwan dollar closed at a near four-month high on Monday due to warming trade ties with China and as signs that the worst might be over for the global economy pushed up the island's financial markets. The Taiwan dollar ended the session at T$33.192 to the US dollar, the highest closing price since January 10.
It reached T$32.833 in early trade, the highest intraday level since December 31 and compared with a final price of T$33.233 in the previous session. "It's the news that Chinese investments are coming in," a dealer in Taipei said. "Some investors are going all out."
The prospect of investments from economic powerhouse China coming to recession-hit Taiwan helped boost market sentiment, dealers said, particularly because the two sides signed a fresh round of trade deals in late April. Investors in the region meanwhile welcomed improving global economic data, pushing Taiwan stocks up 5.64 percent. Foreign investors bought a net $590 million worth of Taiwan stocks on Monday. For the month of April, foreign funds bought a huge T$103.7 billion in the stock market.