Taiwanese shares remain flat
The TAIEX closed flat yesterday after bargain-hunting offset early pressure following a Wall Street fall overnight, dealers said.
The TAIEX fell 2.13 points, or 0.03 percent, to 6,665.40 on turnover of NT$113.04 billion (US$3.44 billion). Losers led gainers 1,152 to 1,004, with 195 stocks unchanged.
The market opened down 0.52 percent in reaction to Wall Street’s slide, but some investors took advantage to lift the index, while caution still dominated throughout the trading day, dealers said.
“As the market was moving closer to the 6,700-point mark, consolidation was needed to overcome the technical resistance,” Capital Securities (群益證券) analyst Chen Yu-yu (陳育娛) said.
While bargain hunting turned active in late trading, “many investors remained reluctant to chase prices,” Chen said.
For the week, the weighted index rose 3.12 percent after a 3.37 percent fall a week earlier. Average daily turnover stood at NT$107.42 billion, compared with NT$99.87 billion a week ago.
Reserves hit record high
Foreign exchange reserves at the end of last month hit a record high of US$317.56 billion, the central bank said yesterday.
The figure was up US$4.92 billion from the end of May, it said, adding that the increase reflected its investment returns and the appreciation of the euro and the British pound against the greenback.
UMC awaiting approval
Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs John Deng (鄧振中) told the Taiwan Foreign Correspondents’ Club yesterday that the ministry had not yet approved United Microelectronics Corp’s (UMC, 聯電) plan to acquire China’s He Jian Technology (Suzhou) Co (和艦).
“We have not given them permission. We have not permitted them to do that yet. We’re working with UMC now,” Deng said.
Last month, shareholders of UMC approved a company proposal to acquire the remaining 85 percent stake it doesn’t already own in He Jian for US$285 million. He Jian currently operates a factory making chips on eight-inch wafer in Suzhou, China.
Airlines to raise surcharges
Commercial airlines will raise their fuel surcharges by 20 percent beginning July 15 to offset higher costs of crude oil, the Civil Aeronautics Administration said on its Web site on Thursday.
The fuel levy on short-haul routes will be raised to US$15 per trip, while long-distance routes will be increased to US$39, the statement said.
The move is in response to a CPC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣中油) price increase for international aviation fuel, which was US$84.80 per barrel on July 1, up from the US$72.34 per barrel in June.
China Motor sees higher sales
China Motor Corp (中華汽車) may raise its annual sales estimate from the earlier prediction of 32,000 units as demand has increased, the company said yesterday.
China Motor sold 4,300 cars last month, beating its previous projection of more than 3,000 cars.
Meanwhile, Yulon Nissan Motor Co’s (裕隆日產) revenues were boosted last month by sales of its Teana and Rogue models, deputy spokesman Hsieh Ting-lin (謝汀麟) said, declining to give estimates.
The latest government data released on Wednesday showed new vehicle sales grew 25.8 percent to 26,150 units last month from a year ago, and up 43.5 percent from May.
NT dollar on the rise
The New Taiwan dollar gained ground against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday, rising NT$0.057 to close at NT$32.890. A total of US$545 million changed hands during the day’s trading.
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