Stocks gained for the first day in five yesterday. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) rose on optimism the company will report a more than fourfold increase in third-quarter profit today.
The TAIEX added 40.41, or 0.7 percent, to 5,958.55, ending its four-day 2.6 percent decline. The futures index added 0.7 percent to 6,000.
About seven stocks gained for every four that declined. About 6 billion shares changed hands, 38 percent below the average daily trading in the past three months.
TSMC added NT$1, or 1.6 percent, to NT$65.50. The company may say today that net income soared to NT$13.8 billion (US$406 million) from NT$3.2 billion a year ago, analysts said.
"Solid corporate fundamentals will fuel another rally in Taiwan," said Eddie Chiu, a fund manager at First Global Investment Trust Co (元大投信).
Teco Electric & Machinery Co (東元電機), a maker of household appliances, gained NT$0.20, or 1.7 percent, to NT$11.80 after a Chinese-language newspaper reported it plans to sell 120 million shares in United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), citing Teco chairman Theodore Huang (黃茂雄).
Teco, the second-biggest institutional shareholder of UMC, has no timetable to sell the shares, and the plan is subject to market sentiment, the newspaper said, citing Teco chairman Huang Mao-hsiung.
UMC rose NT$0.30, or 1 percent, to NT$30.70.
Walsin Technology Corp (華新麗華), the second-largest domestic maker of parts that control the flow of electricity in electronic products, was unchanged at NT$28.20.
RSS