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Share prices edge up in light trading ahead of US holiday

Share prices closed 0.21 percent higher yesterday in quiet trade after strong gains on Friday when investors cheered signs that the US central bank was near to a halt in raising interest rates, dealers said.

They said serious buyers opted to wait out the US Independence Day holiday today to see how Wall Street takes the story on before they make any aggressive commitments.

The weighted index added 14.09 points at 6,718.50, after trading between 6,705.25 and 6,735.34, on turnover of NT$68.81 billion (US$2.13 billion).

The paper and construction sectors outperformed, up 4.74 percent and 3.14 percent respectively, on expectations that property-backed shares stand to benefit from a stronger local currency and an anticipated increase in inflation.

"The market retreated back to a mode of rangebound consolidation ... before July 4," SinoPac Securities (建華證券) assistant vice president Alvin Teng (鄧可欣) said.

"People want to make sure that Wall Street will keep up its bullish tone and inspire foreign investors to remain solid buyers on the local bourse," he said.

On the other hand, companies' sales for last month, expected by next Monday, are unlikely to make much of a difference to share prices in the near term, he said.

"June remained a seasonally weaker month for most technology companies," he said. "Any disappointing numbers for the month should come hardly as a big surprise given the market's previous steep decline since the middle of May."

Taiwan Semiconductor Man-ufacturing Co (台積電) was up NT$0.10 at NT$58.50.
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