TAIEX closes flat
Taiwanese shares closed flat yesterday after a recent spate of tumbles on the back of profit-taking, dealers said.
The weighted index closed down 4.75 points, or 0.08 percent, at 6,220.81 on turnover of NT$109.2 billion (US$3.32 billion).
Losers outnumbered gainers 1,290 to 887, while 146 stocks remained unchanged.
A total of 52 shares fell to their daily 7.0 percent limit, against 31 limit-up.
Despite the sharp fall in other regional markets, the market opened slightly higher and had fallen 1.3 percent in mid-day trading to test the 60-day moving average before regaining momentum at the close.
“There were signs showing the market may stabilize, at least temporarily,” said Mars Hsu of Grand Cathay Securities (大華證券).
The market has shed 900 points, 12 percent, over the past two weeks following a stronger-than-expected rally of 3,000 points on the back of ample liquidity.
“If the market does not fall below today’s intra-day low of 6,143 points in the next three trading sessions, then the market is likely to take a technical rebound,” he said.
Asustek expects profit
Local PC and motherboard maker Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) said yesterday the company could turn an operating profit in the current quarter, or one quarter ahead of its original schedule.
“We should be able to turn an operating profit in the current quarter,” local cable TV station USTV quoted chairman Jonney Shih (施崇棠) as saying, after the company’s annual shareholder meeting.
Asustek has posted two straight quarters of operating losses since the final quarter of last year. The company said earlier that it expected to turn an operating profit in the third quarter.
Yuan allowed at duty-free stores
In a bid to boost Chinese tourism, the Ministry of Finance intends to allow the use of the Chinese currency at duty-free stores at the country’s airports and seaports as early as next month, a ministry official said yesterday.
The government will revise regulations to permit transactions of as much as 20,000 yuan (US$2,900) at the stores, the official said.
Under existing regulations governing the operation of duty-free stores, foreign currencies and the NT dollar may be used for transactions at duty-free shops. However, the yuan is not categorized in regulations as a foreign currency.
Global Mobile tests stations
Local WiMAX license-holder Global Mobile Corp (全球一動) said yesterday it had launched interoperability testing for its base stations and other telecom terminals from local telecom equipment suppliers including D-Link Corp (友訊科技), paving the way for commercial operations next quarter in Hsinchu.
Global Mobile has purchased the first set of base stations from Samsung Electronic and intends to buy 300 this year. The company also said it would use base station networking solutions from Nokia-Siemens.
Local customer-premises equipment makers Zyxel Communications Corp (合勤) and Gemtek Technology Co (正文科技), as well as portable navigator maker Dmedia System Co (米迪亞), are three of the 11 local suppliers that will join Global Mobile for the testing, Global Mobile said in a statement.
NT dollar gains on greenback
The New Taiwan dollar gained ground against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday, rising NT$0.055 to close at NT$32.885. Turnover was US$779 million.
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