Shares close up on sustained interest by foreign investors

Shares rose 0.61 percent yesterday to close above the psychologically important 7,600-point level as sustained foreign investor interest supported the market, dealers said.

The TAIEX gained 45.85 points to finish at 7,613.57, on turnover of NT$133.03 billion (US$4.12 billion).

Risers led decliners 340 to 253, with 141 stocks unchanged.

Memory-chip and computer makers such as Powerchip Semiconductor Corp (力晶半導體) advanced after Microsoft Corp's chief executive officer Steve Ballmer said analysts had underestimated demand for the company's new operating system Vista.

Powerchip, the nation's biggest producer of computer memory chips, advanced 0.5 percent to NT$21.10. Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦), the world's biggest notebook computer maker, increased 2 percent to NT$57.5.

For the week to Dec. 1, the weighted TAIEX index closed up 186.21 points or 2.51 percent, after a 2.31 percent gain a week earlier.

Daily average turnover stood at NT$124.77 billion for the week, compared with NT$107.26 billion the previous week.

"The recent gains were largely driven by adequate liquidity. With a continued presence of foreign investors, high fund positions are expected to fuel more interest," National Investment Trust analyst Hank Chen (陳維隆) said.

Dealers said foreign interest has been boosted by a relatively low local valuations after the market lagged its regional and US peers in recent months.

Chen said the fact that share prices are climbing step-by-step instead of jumping ahead in a short period encourages expectations of further gains.