Wall Street gains boost TAIEX
Share prices closed up 0.88 percent yesterday as investors were cheered by further gains on Wall Street, dealers said.
The TAIEX rose 68.73 points to 7,856.00 on turnover of NT$111.3 billion (US$3.44 billion).
Gainers led losers 1,604 to 1,039 with 304 stocks unchanged.
The market opened higher on Wall Street’s rise with laggards, particularly financial firms, in focus as investors hunted bargains, dealers said.
“Financial stocks have consolidated for some time. Compared with the broader market, they looked attractive,” TLG Asset Management (台壽保投信) analyst Arch Shih (施博元) said.
However, turnover remained moderate despite constant gains in the local bourse, indicating many investors have retreated from the trading floor, Shih said.
“There are fears that the market will suffer stiff resistance as it moves closer to the 7,900-8,000 point range,” Shih said.
FTC approves merger
The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) yesterday approved a merger between three liquid-crystal-display (LCD) manufacturers — Innolux Display Corp (群創光電), Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (奇美電子) and TPO Displays Corp (統寶光電).
The commission agreed to the merger because it would not restrict competition in the LCD market and would benefit Taiwan’s economy.
Innolux, an affiliate of the world’s largest contract electronics maker Hon Hai Group (鴻海集團), reached a consolidation deal last month with Chi Mei, Taiwan’s second-largest and the world’s fourth-largest LCD manufacturer, after sealing a similar deal with TPO in October.
Innolux will be the surviving company and will be renamed Chimei Innolux Corp after the merger, which is expected to take effect on April 30 next year.
Bond sale will repay debt
Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化), the nation’s second-biggest oil refiner, said in a stock exchange filing yesterday that its board had approved a plan to sell up to NT$24 billion in unsecured corporate bonds next year to repay short-term debt and improve its financial structure.
The filing said the bonds, with a maturity of up to seven years, might carry a fixed or floating interest rate, and would be issued in a single sale or through several tranches.
Separately, Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控), the nation’s biggest financial services company, said its brokerage unit bought NT$500 million in unsecured corporate bonds issued by Uni-President Enterprises Corp (統一企業) as part of local investments.
Uni-President is the nation’s largest maker of packaged juice and instant noodles.
Shin Kong Life to sell shares
Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽), the nation’s third-largest life insurance company, is seeking to raise NT$18 billion by selling shares at NT$22.50 apiece through a private placement.
In a stock exchange filing issued by its parent Shin Kong Financial Holding Co (新光金控) yesterday, the life insurance company also said it booked about NT$600 million profit from a property sale in Taipei for NT$1.62 billion.
NT dollar gains
The New Taiwan dollar gained ground against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday, rising NT$0.029 to close at NT$32.355 on turnover of US$620 million.
The local currency opened at the day’s low of NT$32.430 against the greenback and rose to a high of NT$32.322.
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