TAIEX buoyed by liquidity
Share prices closed up 0.47 percent yesterday amid ample liquidity, dealers said.
The weighted index rose 36.22 points to 7,751.32 on turnover of NT$111.6 billion (US$3.45 billion).
The market opened slightly lower, reflecting falls on Wall Street at the end of last week, but high liquidity encouraged investors to pick up stocks, dealers said.
In particular, investors focused on old economy firms given their relatively cheap valuations to boost the broader market, they said.
“I suspect the buying came from foreign institutional investors after they have brought in large funds” to Taiwan recently, President Securities (統一證券) analyst Steven Huang said.
Huang added, however, that “daily turnover remained low, indicating many investors took to the sidelines.”
“The market is expected to move in a narrow range in the short term,” he said.
Compal raises sales forecast
Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶), which became the world’s largest manufacturer of laptops by shipments last quarter, raised its full-year forecast after posting record sales last month.
“Demand from Europe is very strong,” Gary Lu (呂清雄), chief financial officer of Taipei-based Compal said in a telephone interview yesterday.
Compal will pass its earlier 32 million to 35 million units forecast and may surpass 36 million units, he said.
Foxconn denies Chengdu plans
Foxconn International Holdings Ltd (富士康) denied a Hong Kong Economic Journal report yesterday that it would invest US$1 billion in a factory in Chengdu.
Vincent Tong, spokesman for Shenzhen, China-based Foxconn International, said he was not aware of any reason for the rise in the firm’s share price yesterday.
Foxconn’s investment will consist of production lines to make LED televisions and liquid-crystal display modules, the Hong Kong-based Chinese-language newspaper said yesterday, without saying where it got the information.
Edmund Ding (丁祈安), spokesman for Foxconn parent Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), said on Saturday his firm would invest US$1 billion in Chengdu.
PRC issues anti-dumping rule
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce yesterday issued a preliminary anti-dumping ruling against companies from the US, Europe, Russia and Taiwan, accusing them of selling the following chemical fibers — Polycaprolactam, Polyamide-6 or Nylon6 — at below cost in the Chinese market.
The companies included BASF Corp, Honeywell Resins & Chemical LLC and Formosa Chemicals & Fiber Corp (台灣化纖).
Corning hit by power outage
Corning Inc, the world’s biggest supplier of mother glasses, said yesterday that a plant in central Taiwan experienced a power disruption over the weekend.
The incident came amid tight supply of mother glasses since the second quarter as demand for flat panels picked up at a faster-than-expected rate.
Corning declined to comment on whether the power outage had disrupted production at the plant, which supplies 5.5-generation or bigger glasses, mainly for local liquid-crystal-display panel makers, including AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電).
“We are assessing the impact that the power outage may have on glass-making operations. We have a team of experts working on this and will provide an update when more information is available,” Corning said in a press release.
AUO said it was still waiting for more information from Corning and might resort to other suppliers if needed.
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