Taiwanese computer-related shares, among the country's worst performers during the past month, may rebound after companies such as Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦) and Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶電腦) raised sales forecasts.
Quanta, the world's largest laptop maker, and Compal, the second largest, were among stocks that slumped after Dell Inc indicated third-quarter revenue will fall short of analysts' estimates before the new US school year. Concern about demand is probably overdone, said Victor Shih, who helps manage the equivalent of US$2.8 billion at HSBC Investments (Taiwan) Ltd.
"We have a positive view on the entire tech sector," Shih said. "After the back-to-school demand, we think that demand for Christmas will also be pretty strong."
Shares of Quanta have fallen 14 percent since the Aug. 11 statement by Dell, the world's biggest PC company.
Compal has lost 6.7 percent. Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦), the world's biggest maker of motherboards, the main computer circuit boards, has dropped 8.4 percent.
Taiwanese companies supply PC makers such as Dell, Hewlett-Packard Co and Toshiba Corp with semiconductors, circuit boards and computers. Declines among their shares dragged down the Taiex electronic index by 6.8 percent, the fourth-biggest drop among 19 industries on the benchmark index.
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