Investors chase Wall Street
Share prices closed up 0.82 percent yesterday as investors scrambled to pick up large-cap stocks amid improved sentiment after Wall Street’s recent strong gains, dealers said.
The TAIEX index rose 61.72 points to 7,515.78, after moving between 7,481.72 and 7,534.06, on turnover of NT$91.94 billion (US$2.85 billion).
The market opened 0.66 percent higher on catch-up buying to chase Wall Street’s jump of more than 2 percent on Tuesday and while some profit taking emerged during trading hours, the early gains were sustained because of interest in buying low.
The local bourse was closed on Wednesday, which was a public holiday.
A total of 1,751 stocks closed higher and 1,102 lower, while 409 remained unchanged.
Yuanta approves share issue
The board of Yuanta Financial Holding Co (元大金控) yesterday approved a proposal to raise NT$1.021 billion (US$31.6 million) via the issuance of 56.76 million shares at NT$18 per share, an exchange filing said.
The fund-raising plan will be completed on June 28 and the proceeds will be used to boost the financial service provider’s capital, the filing said.
A majority of 85 percent of the new shares, 48.2 million with a face value of NT$10 each, will be subscribed by the company’s existing shareholders, while the remaining 15 percent, 8.5 million shares, will be reserved for its employees, the filing added.
Broker to appeal court ruling
Taiwan International Securities Corp (金鼎證券) said yesterday it would appeal a decision in which the Taipei District Court appointed three temporary managers to take over the company’s operations amid management disputes.
Taiwan International Securities said in a statement the appointments were “illegal and unreasonable” and urged the court to cancel the decision.
A company spokesman said that although last year’s board elections were in dispute, its operations had not been affected, so it was unnecessary for the court to step in.
Arena distributor to pull out
A local distributor of Arena swimwear yesterday told the Taipei Times it would stop carrying the brand next year and that it is looking to clear all of its stock by the end of December.
“Taiwanese consumers always want to wait to buy Speedo or Arena swimwear out of season,” a company official from Arts Group (亞藝) said. “These 50 percent to 60 percent discounts meant we lost money and sales of the latest fashions are sluggish.”
The licensing fees and import costs also made business plunge into the red, she said.
Arts Group is holding various clearance events nationwide, including one at Eslite Bookstore’s (誠品) Xinyi outlet and one at Core Pacific Mall (京華城), with a number of items being offered at a 40 percent discount.
Another distributor of the popular swimwear brand Speedo called it quits at the end of last year.
Asustek to resume trading
Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦), maker of the Eee PC low-cost netbook, will resume trading on June 24 following the spin-off of its Pegatron Corp (和碩) manufacturing unit.
The reference price for resumption of trading will be NT$225.10 per share, Asustek said in an exchange filing yesterday.
NT dollar gains ground
The New Taiwan dollar strengthened against the US dollar yesterday, rising NT$0.028 to close at NT$32.310.
Turnover totaled US$880 million during the trading session.
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