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Financial firms lead TAIEX up on Wall Street gains

Shares ended slightly higher yesterday led by financial firms, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street.

The TAIEX finished 42.39 points or 0.7 percent higher at 6,103, in trading valued at NT$94.14 billion (US$2.77 billion).

Advancers outnumbered decliners 377 to 262, while 177 issues ended the day unchanged.

"The local bourse is taking cues from the US market, which rose modestly overnight despite high oil prices," said Andrew Teng (鄧安瀾), a manager at Taiwan In-ternational Securities (金鼎證券).

In US trading on Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.6 percent, while the NASDAQ Composite Index rose 0.8 percent.

Taiwan Business Bank (台灣企銀), the most actively traded stock on the exchange, soared 4.8 percent to NT$12.05, while Taishin Financial Holding Co (台新金控) rose 2.1 percent to NT$29.

Shares of the nation's two largest airlines finished markedly higher on hopes President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) will call for direct transportation links with China during his National Day address on Sunday, analysts said.

EVA Airways (長榮航空) surged 6.8 percent to NT$14.95, while China Airlines (華航) jumped 4.4 percent to NT$19.2.

In the technology sector, chip packaging and testing firms rose after Siliconware Precision Industries Co (矽品) said on Wednesday that its revenue rose last month to a record NT$3.05 billion (US$89.9 million), up 24 percent from NT$2.47 billion (US$72.8 million) last year. Siliconware was up 1.2 percent at NT$25.1.

Teng said the bourse may be mired in a tight range in the next few sessions, as investors have been quick to take profits.
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