TAIEX into negative territory
The TAIEX yesterday closed lower as investors locked in the earlier gains, pushing the index into negative territory, dealers said.
Profit taking was focused on the high-tech sector, wiping out the rebound by large-cap stocks such as local suppliers to Apple Inc and flat-panel makers, dealers said.
Selling also extended to the old economy sector, which added to the downward pressure on the wider market, they said.
The weighted index closed down 83.79 points, or 1.09 percent, at 7,616.64, on turnover of NT$94.31 billion (US$3.25 billion).
Japanese homes gain popularity
Taiwanese buyers are becoming more interested in Japan’s property market as the Japanese yen has declined by nearly 10 percent over the past two months, a real- estate agent said yesterday.
The Japan office of Sinyi Realty Inc (信義房屋) has received more than 200 calls in the past two weeks from Taiwan asking about properties for sale in Japan, said Lin Yan-hong (林彥宏), head of the branch.
Lin said the weakening of the Japanese currency over the past two months has resulted in lower property prices for overseas buyers, including Taiwanese.
For example, a property that cost US$638,050 two months ago would now cost about US$569,430, as the yen dropped to ¥89.67 against the US dollar on Monday, the lowest level since June 2010, Lin said.
The agency has shown Japanese properties to about 70 potential Taiwanese buyers in recent weeks, he said.
New Kinpo predicts growth
Electronics conglomerate New Kinpo Group (新金寶集團) yesterday predicted a higher annual revenue growth for this year than last year amid a recovery in the global economy.
The group reported revenue increased by 6.6 percent to US$6.62 billion last year and expected sales to grow at an even higher rate this year, group chairman Rock Hsu (許勝雄) said.
New Kinpo includes three main subsidiaries — calculator manufacturer Kinpo Electronics Inc (金寶), LED lighting supplier AcBel Polytech Inc (康舒) and Cal-Comp Electronics and Communications Co (泰金寶), which makes printers, hard disk drives and LCD TVs.
Nexus 7 best seller in Japan
The Nexus 7 tablet computer, co-branded by Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) and US Web titan Google Inc, became the best seller in Japan last month, ending the reign of Apple Inc that started with the launch of the iPad in May 2010.
The 7-inch mobile device accounted for 44.4 percent of Japan’s tablet sales last month, beating the 40.1 percent for the iPad to give it first place among all vendors, according to Japan’s BCN sales rankings, released on Wednesday.
MOEA to join services talks
The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) on Wednesday said it would send a delegation to Geneva, Switzerland, at the end of the month to attend international talks on services.
The ministry was referring to negotiations on the International Services Agreement in the wake of notification of the US Congress on Tuesday by US Trade Representative Ron Kirk that the US government intends to enter negotiations on a new trade agreement with a group of 20 trading partners, including Taiwan, the EU and Japan.
NT dollar gains ground
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday closed higher against the US dollar, advancing NT$0.014 to close at NT$29.085.
Turnover totaled US$643 million during the trading session.
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