TAIEX advances on back of semiconductor report

Stocks rose, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) after a report showed global semiconductor sales rose 23 percent in October, indicating a pick up in the industry.

The TAIEX rose 41.28, or 0.7 percent, to 5911.45. The Taiwan Futures Index added 0.3 percent to 5930.

About 3.2 billion shares changed hands, 20 percent below the average daily trading in the past three months. Shares worth NT$78.7 billion traded, 13 percent below the three-month daily average.

TSMC, the world's largest maker of computer chips on a subcontracting basis, rose NT$2, or 3.1 percent, to NT$66. Rival United Microelectronics Corp (聯電) rose NT$0.70, or 2.3 percent, to NT$30.80.

Chip sales rose to NT$15.4 billion, a 6.8 percent gain from the previous month, the Semiconductor Industry Association said.

The chip industry has forecast "double-digit" growth for this year and next, SIA said.

First Financial Holding Co (第一金控), which owns Taiwan's fourth-biggest bank by assets, rose NT$0.10, or 0.4 percent, to NT$22.60 after saying it hired PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP to find possible takeover targets.

"We will acquire others, and not be acquired by others," said Huang Hsien-chuan (黃獻全), executive vice president of First Financial. Huang said there is no timeframe for when the bank plans to make an acquisition

Via Technologies Inc (威盛電子), the world's second-largest maker of chipsets for personal computers, fell NT$80, or 1.2 percent, to NT$41.70. Via said November sales fell 28.7 percent from a year earlier to NT$1.7 billion from NT$2.3 billion. Sales declined from NT$2 billion in the previous month.