TAIEX rises, led by UMC, Chi Mei

Stocks gained yesterday, led by United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) after the world's second-largest supplier of made-to-order chips said sales last month jumped 27.63 percent from a year ago.

Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (奇美電子), the nation's second-largest maker of liquid crystal displays, gained after Sony Corp said it expects electronic-product purchases from Taiwan to grow at a double-digit rate in the next 12 months starting this month.

The TAIEX added 26.12, or 0.4 percent, to 6,672.86. The Taiwan Index futures due in April added 0.2 percent to 6,678.

The technology subindex ended 0.3 percent higher overall, with flat-panel shares leading the gains.

The country's second-largest flat-panel maker, Chi Mei Optoelectronics, soared 5.6 percent to NT$66.50.

The company said yesterday that its consolidated sales last month amounted to NT$11.56 billion, up 135.4 percent from a year ago and up 26.5 percent from the previous month.

AU Optronics Corp (友達光電), the nation's largest maker of flat-panel maker, climbed 3.2 percent to NT$65. Quanta Display Inc (廣輝電子), a second tier flat-screen maker, rose 2.3 percent to NT$26.30 after the company said its revenue last month grew to NT$5.39 billion (US$163.85 million) from NT$1.76 billion for the same month last year.

UMC added 1.3 percent to NT$32. It said Wednesday its sales last month rose 12.19 percent to NT$9.01 billion from NT$8.03 billion in February.