DRAM makers lead gainers as TAIEX climbs for third day

Shares ended higher for the third straight session yesterday, with memory-chip makers leading gains. Dealers said buying picked up after the index breached a key technical level.

The TAIEX finished up 19.87 points, or 0.4 percent at 5,622.86 in dealings valued at NT$91.48 billion (US$2.66 billion).

Advancers well outnumbered decliners 461 to 218, while 205 issues ended the day unchanged.

"It's significant that the index finished above the 60-day moving average of 5,612. Once it passes 5,650, the next major pressure zone is around 6,000," said Harvey Chang, an analyst at United Securities Investment Trust (聯合投信).

Makers of dynamic random access memory chips were higher yesterday as the average spot price for the most widely used DRAM chip recovered from a recent slide.

Powerchip Semiconductor Corp (力晶半導體), the nation's largest DRAM maker, rose 4.5 percent to NT$23.30, topping the list of most actively traded stocks on the bourse.

Continued concerns over flat-panel prices, however, curbed further gains. AU Optronics Corp (友達光電), the largest of the country's liquid-crystal-display makers, was the only gainer in its sector, rising 2.3 percent to NT$44.20.

"Volume didn't taper off from yesterday, which is great for a rebound, but the bourse can only do it if LCD stocks and the two chipmakers [UMC and TSMC] carry their weight," Chang said.

United Microelectronics Corp (聯電), the world's second largest contract chipmaker, dropped 1.3 percent to NT$23, while global No. 1 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) fell 0.9 percent to NT$46.40.