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Shares close up almost 2%

Taiwanese shares closed up 1.97 percent yesterday, led by construction and financial shares, dealers said.

The TAIEX index rose 144.11 points to 7,467.04 on turnover of NT$98.06 billion (US$3.01 billion).

Gainers outnumbered losers 2,178 to 587, while 164 shares were unchanged. A total of 53 stocks surged to their daily 7 percent limit against 21 limit-down.

The rebound was made possible after Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) dismissed reports that the government plans to curb soaring housing prices by hiking taxes and adopting other measures.

“That was why the construction sector was the strongest throughout the trade,” said Allen Lin of Concord Securities (康和證券).

Huang Hsiang Construction Corp (皇翔建設) finished at NT$60.8 and Highwealth Construction Corp (興富發建設) at NT$42.95. Both were limit-up.

Macquarie cautious on Asia

Investors in Europe and the US are cautious about Asian stocks as the market has run “too far too fast,” stretching valuations, Macquarie Group Ltd said.

Macquarie recommended high-yield stocks for when markets are falling, according to a research note by analysts Daniel McCormack and Henry Hon released yesterday. Singapore’s StarHub Ltd, Malaysia’s Berjaya Sports Toto Bhd and Taiwan’s HTC Corp (宏達電) are among stocks with the highest dividend yield in the region, the report said.

Investors should also favor industries including consumer staples, telecommunications and utilities, and “underweight” cyclical plays such as industrials and materials, McCormack and Hon wrote.

Animators invest in Guangzhou

Nine Taiwanese companies in the animation and comics industry struck a deal yesterday to invest a combined total of NT$500 million (US$15.36 million) in an animation industry park being constructed in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province.

The investment is seen as a move to make inroads into the animation market in Guangzhou, according to officials at the Taiwan External Trade Development Council.

Waterland bounces back

Waterland Financial Holding Co (國票金控) yesterday reported NT$195.2 million (US$6 million) in net income for last month, its exchange filing showed.

Net income in the first 10 months of the year totaled NT$2.3 billion, or NT$1.1 per share, up from a net loss of NT$1.59 billion in the same period one year earlier, the filing said.

Meanwhile, Taichung Bank (台中銀行) yesterday reported NT$170 million in pre-tax earnings for last month, or 466 percent growth year-on-year, its exchange filing said.

The bank, however, remained in the red, incurring NT$550 million in total net losses in the first 10 months of the year, compared with a net income of NT$1 billion in the same period one year earlier, the filing added.

Far EasTone revenue to grow

Far EasTone Telecommunications Co (遠傳電信), the nation’s third-biggest mobile-phone service provider, expects revenue in the current quarter to increase 2.3 percent to NT$14.3 billion from the preceding quarter, the Taipei-based phone company said in an exchange filing yesterday.

Net income before tax would be NT$3.27 billion in the current quarter, little changed from NT$3.26 billion in the third quarter, while net income per share would be NT$0.71, it said.

NT dollar makes ground

The New Taiwan dollar gained against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday, rising NT$0.017 to close at NT$32.558. Turnover was US$495 million.
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