Taiwan shares rose 1.76 percent on Wednesday to a two and a half-year closing high, led by banks including Chang Hwa, on investor hopes for an improving earnings outlook as trade ties between China and Taiwan continue to improve. State-run Chang Hwa was up its 7 percent daily limit, boosting the financial sub-index 4.39 percent higher.
Investor expectations for the two and other local lenders, which have struggled with stiff competition and low spreads for years, have picked up as cross-strait relations are at their best levels in 60 years. Their earnings also picked up recently. The 37 local lenders had earned a combined pretax profit of T$156.3 billion ($5.1 billion) in the 10 months to October, exceeding the profits earned in entire year of 2004, local media reported. The main TAIEX share index ended up 147.63 points at 8,520.11, a level not seen since June 2008. All sub-indexes gained, led by financials, glass and ceramics and construction.