Investors wary ahead of results season

Share are expected to see limited interest amid cautious sentiment in the coming week ahead of quarterly earnings results by heavyweights at home and abroad, dealers said on Friday.

They said the latest probes into alleged insider trading involving mobile phone maker Inventec Appliances Co (英華達) would further dampen sentiment with investors fearing the case could lead to further scandals.

The market has stayed above the 8,000 mark for six consecutive sessions, but a lack of buying may press the index below that level. The benchmark is expected to move between 7,900 points and 8,100 points this week.

For the week ending on Saturday, the weighted index closed up 42.82 points at 8,045.12 after a 1.52 percent increase a week earlier.

Average turnover stood at NT$113.94 billion (US$3.44 billion), compared with NT$122.22 billion a week ago.

"It is no surprise that investors have been more wary after the market breached 8,000 points, a near seven year high, earlier this month," Capital Securities (群益證券) analyst Huang Shun-hui said.

It is understood that investors also fear more crackdowns on listed companies for trading irregularities, Huang said.

Hank Chen (陳維隆), an analyst with National Securities (建弘證券), said until investors get a clearer picture about earnings prospects the market is likely to stay relatively quiet in the short term.