Taiwan stocks rose, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co(TSMC, 台積電), after Intel Corp met earnings estimates and said sales of personal computer chips in the third quarter beat expectations.
The TWSE Index gained for the fifth day in six, advancing 22.27, or 0.6 percent, to 3817.13. Within the index, 185 stocks rose and 221 fell. The total value of trade was NT$61.5 billion (US$1.8 billion), 29 percent higher than the six-month daily average of NT$47.5 billion.
``Intel's a bellwether for the state of the PC market,'' said Bryan Chiang, who manages about NT$500 million (US$14.5 million) in stocks at Invesco Taiwan Ltd. ``If the PC market is showing signs of improvement, that's positive for Taiwan's electronics sector.'' Chipmakers rose after Intel's quarterly earnings met analyst expectations and as US chipmakers climbed, lifting the widely watched Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, a price weighted index of 16 companies involved in the design and production of chips, up 2.4 percent yesterday.
TSMC, the biggest made-to-order chipmaker, rose NT$2.50, or 4.5 percent, to NT$58. TSMC's American depositary receipts rose 10 percent to US$11.61 yesterday. United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the second-biggest made-to-order chipmaker, gained 10 cents, or 0.3 percent, to NT$29.30. UMC's ADRs rose 11 percent to US$5.96.
Acer Inc (宏電) rose 60 cents, or 5.7 percent, to NT$11.05. The only Taiwan company with an international brand name said it will spend US$1 billion in three years on Internet-related businesses to help return to profit.
Telecommunications shares rose after the government said it would start accepting bids for five licenses for third-generation mobile-phone services from Oct. 19. The minimum bids will range from NT$4.2 billion to NT$7.6 billion. Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) rose 90 cents, or 1.9 percent, to NT$47.70. Taiwan Cellular Corp (台灣大哥大) rose 10 cents, or 0.3 percent, to NT$35.10.
Mediatek Inc (聯發科技) fell NT$8, or 3.1 percent, to NT$250. Sony Corp is taking legal action against Lite-On IT Corp (建興電子) to collect royalties for its disk drive technology, a Chinese language newspaper reported yesterday. Sony's patent may extend to the chipset, made by Mediatek, that runs the disk drive, the paper said. Mediatek wouldn't comment on the report.
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