Resistance stabilizes trading
The TAIEX closed little changed yesterday after strong technical resistance ahead of the 8,200-point mark kept the fluctuations in a narrow range throughout the session, dealers said.
Turnover was reduced as many investors preferred to stay on the sidelines amid fears that the market would encounter a major pullback after it staged a rally in the previous session, they said.
The TAIEX closed down 3.10 points, or 0.04 percent, at 8,118.34, after moving between 8,103.97 and 8,151.70, on turnover of NT$125.81 billion (US$4.28 billion).
Taiwan to invite Chinese banker
Taiwan plans to invite China’s top banking official to attend the first biannual meeting between the two countries’ financial regulators in the first half of the year, a Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) official said yesterday.
Besides inviting China Banking Regulatory Commission Chairman Shang Fulin (尚福林), FSC Banking Bureau Director-General Kuei Hsien-nung (桂先農) said regulators are expected to share their experiences and discuss issues of concern to both Taiwanese and Chinese banks.
The meeting is also set to explore the possibility of holding cross-strait seminars and allowing cooperation in areas such as personnel training, Kuei said.
HTC faces chip shortage
A shortage in mobile communications chips could affect product shipments at HTC Corp (宏達電), one of the world’s leading smartphone vendors, Daiwa Capital Markets said.
In a recent research note, the brokerage said that because there is a shortage of US-based Qualcomm Inc’s 8960 platform, including 8960 and 8260A chipsets, HTC is expected to delay the launch of its latest smartphone model — the HTC Ville — until the third quarter.
In addition to the delay, the firm could suffer lower-than-expected shipments of the new model, it said.
In the second quarter, Daiwa said, HTC is expected to rely on legacy models with lower gross margins, making it hard for the smartphone vendor to boost its global market share.
Cathay awarded QFII status
Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控), the nation’s largest financial services provider, said yesterday its life insurance unit had been awarded qualified foreign institutional investor (QFII) status, which would allow it to directly invest in Chinese securities.
The Taipei-based company said in a stock exchange filing that Cathay Life Insurance Co (國泰人壽) had secured the QFII license from the China Securities Regulatory Commission.
The life insurer still has to wait for an investment quota from China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange before it can invest in yuan-denominated financial products, including A-shares, corporate bonds and bank debentures.
NT dollars back in line
The New Taiwan dollar fell against the US dollar yesterday, declining NT$0.067 to close at NT$29.487 as the local currency fell back in line with its counterparts in the region, dealers said.
Turnover totaled US$653 million during the trading session.
Traders moved funds to the US dollar from other currencies as fears of further easing by the US Federal Reserve were dampened after the Fed said the US economy had improved, they said.
By taking advantage of the downward trend in regional currencies, the central bank bought the US dollar, adding further downward pressure on the NT dollar by the end of the session, traders said.
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