Taiwan stocks rose 0.21 percent on Friday, with banks rising after the central bank left interest rates on hold and said it hoped to sign a currency clearing agreement with China around the middle of the year. The main TAIEX index ended up 16.67 points at 8,076.61, outperforming most regional bourses. Financials added 0.51 percent. Among other winning sectors, department stores and construction were up 1 percent and 0.71 percent, respectively.
The Taiwan dollar rose slightly to T$29.56 per US dollar. Foreign investors were net buyers on Thursday, bringing their total buying to T$32.7 billion this month.