TAIEX gains 1.53 percent
Taiwanese share prices closed 1.53 percent higher yesterday as investors searched for bargains after sharp declines in early trading owing to another slide on Wall Street, dealers said.
The TAIEX closed up 122.15 points at 8,085.06 on turnover of NT$149.70 billion (US$4.61 billion).
Risers led decliners 1,107 to 779, with 442 stocks unchanged. A total of 19 stocks closed limit-up, while 25 were limit-down.
Frank Lin, senior vice president at Fubon Securities Co (富邦證券), said apparent progress on opening up cross-strait tourism, with news of talks between China's and Taiwan's tourist boards, encouraged investors to hunt for bargains.
Yesterday's recovery was justified by the extent of previous losses, with bargain-hunting pushing the benchmark index even higher late in the session, he said.
Chinatrust FHC back in black
Chinatrust Financial Holding Co (中信金控), owner of the nation's largest credit-card issuer, returned to profit in the fourth quarter from a year-earlier loss as loan provisions fell and fee income rose.
The Taipei-based financial services group had an unaudited net income of NT$481 million (US$15 million), reversing a loss of NT$7.78 billion a year earlier. The figures were derived by subtracting nine-month results from full-year figures announced yesterday in a Taiwan Stock Exchange filing. Chief financial officer Hsu Miao-chiu (許妙靜) confirmed the figure.
In another e-mailed statement, Chinatrust Financial said it booked a pretax loss on overseas investments of NT$356 million last month.
Full-year net income was NT$13.3 billion, Chinatrust Financial said in the statement, citing unaudited figures.
Mega Financial writes off debt
Mega Financial Holding Co (兆豐金控), the nation's third-largest financial company by market value, wrote off NT$807 million (US$24.9 million) in debt related to the US mortgage crisis.
Mega, based in Taipei, bought the collateralized bond obligation (CBO), which was issued by First Financial Holding Co (第一金控), for US$33 million, it said in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange on Tuesday.
The CBO was a portion of a security issued in 2006 by First Financial for NT$6.6 billion.
First Financial is Taiwan's sixth-largest financial services company by assets.
Gold trading debuts in China
Trading on China's gold futures market debuted yesterday with prices quickly surging up to the daily 10 percent limit before falling slightly throughout the day, state press said.
Seven contracts started trading yesterday, with the benchmark price set at 209.99 yuan (US$28.8) per gram by the Shanghai Futures Exchange a day earlier, Xinhua news agency said.
The key contract for June delivery was the first to climb, rising 9.98 percent to 230.95 yuan per gram, followed by 10-percent surges of the other contracts for delivery between July and December, it said.
Most future contracts for the metal finished in the 223 yuan to 227 yuan range.
Gold prices struck a record high in Asian trading yesterday, opening in Hong Kong at US$887.10 to US$887.60 an ounce, or about US$31.67 a gram, up from Tuesday's close of US$863.20 to US$863.70.
NT dollar sheds NT$0.009
The New Taiwan dollar lost ground against the US currency on the Taipei Forex Inc yesterday, declining NT$0.009 to close at NT$32.466.
A total of US$797 million changed hands during the day's trading.
RSS