Taiwan's main stocks gained, paced by exporters such as BenQ Corp (明基電通), after a government report showed overseas orders rose in July as electronics demand surged.
The TAIEX rose 12.36, or 0.3 percent, to 4968.85. About as many stocks rose as fell. For the week, the index rose 1 percent. The total value of trade was NT$79.4 billion (US$2.33 billion).
Export orders rose 16.88 percent to US$12.63 billion in July from a year earlier, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said, with electronics orders gaining 19.2 percent, boosted by rising demand for notebook computers and personal-computer circuit boards.
BenQ, the nation's largest mobile-phone maker, whose second- quarter profit met analyst expectations, said orders for DVD players are reviving after shipments bottomed in May, while computer-monitor shipments bottomed in June. BenQ rose 1.6 percent to NT$62.50 and was the second-most traded stock by value.
``We're seeing orders coming back in the PC-related sector,'' said Bill Lan, who manages NT$200 million in stocks at Jih Sun Securities Investment Trust Co (日盛投信). ``The second quarter was the soft season. Margins should rise in the third quarter as demand picks up.''
Micro-Star International Co (微星) fell 3.3 percent to NT$103.50.The company posted second-quarter profit that fell a 10th from a year earlier to NT$531.8 million.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) rose NT$1, or 1.9 percent, to NT$54. The chipmaker will resume making semiconductors for Nvidia Corp after the designer of computer graphics chips halted orders in July.
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