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China Steel propels share market higher

Shares rose to a 20-month high yesterday led by China Steel Corp (中鋼), after the company said it plans to buy back up to 200 million shares on the open market from yesterday to Feb. 20.

The TAIEX gained 44.05 points, or 0.69 percent, to 6,471.89, the highest level since it closed at 6,574.75 on April 28, 2004. Turnover was NT$105.197 billion (US$3.16 billion).

"Sentiment remained pretty positive and China Steel's buyback plan was a trigger to spark more buying from institutional investors," Stanley Chou, an analyst at Barits Investment Service, said.

Shares in China Steel, the island's largest steel producer by revenue, advanced 3.6 percent to NT$24.8.

China Steel plans to buy back the shares at a price range of NT$16.8 to NT$37.9 each, giving the program a maximum value of NT$7.58 billion.

The decision was driven by a steep fall in the company's stock price of late, analysts said.

The steel subindex finished 2.9 percent higher.

The technology sector gained 0.8 percent.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), the world's largest contract chipmaker by revenue, closed 1.1 percent higher at NT$63. Its smaller rival United Microelectronics Corp (聯電) gained 0.3 percent to NT$19.
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