TAIEX rises 3.97 percent
Taiwanese shares closed up 3.97 percent yesterday as investors sought bargains after recent heavy losses, with sentiment boosted by Wall Street gains and further falls in oil prices, dealers said.
The weighted index rose 270.35 points to 7,085.67, off a low of 6,991.71 and a high of 7,097.65, on turnover of NT$97.53 billion (US$3.21 billion).
The financial sector led the gains, up 6.09 percent, after US firm Citigroup reported better-than-expected quarterly results on Friday, dealers said.
“The Citigroup results comforted investors to some extent after global markets had been hit badly by fears of the deteriorating US mortgage market,” President Securities (統一證券) analyst Johnny Lee said.
The US banking giant’s results seemed to have given investors hope for a recovery of the mortgage market, Lee said.
He said that share buyback plans by local financial holding companies to lift share prices also had encouraged investors to chase prices, adding that recent steep declines failed to reflect fundamentals.
Cathay Financial (國泰金控) rose 7 percent to NT$64.20, Fubon Financial (富邦金) gained NT$6.93 percent to NT$28.55 and Chinatrust Financial (中信金) added NT$6.80 percent to NT$23.55.
“Bargain hunters here took the cues to pick up oversold financial stocks. Even better, the buying spread to all of the sectors on falling oil prices,” Lee said.
Despite the significant gains, Lee said, daily turnover remained relatively low, indicating many investors preferred to stay on the sidelines.
“They are watching closely whether international oil prices will continue to fall and Wall Street will stabilize. The local bourse may face strong resistance at around 7,300 points in the near term,” Lee said.
Kalmaegi losses at NT$837m
Reported agricultural losses caused by Tropical Storm Kalmaegi totaled more than NT$837 million (US$27.65 million) as of 10am yesterday, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said.
Kalmaegi swept through northeastern Taiwan on Thursday, bringing torrential rains that caused widespread damage to crops, livestock and fisheries in central and southern Taiwan.
Yunlin County was the hardest hit, with losses totaling more than NT$210 million.
Damage to crops totaled NT$523 million. A total of 11,327 hectares of farmland suffered crop damage from the storm, with an average of 24 percent of the crops on those lands considered lost, it said.
Livestock losses amounted to NT$79.98 million, with 788 pigs, 776,000 chickens, 139,000 ducks, 14,000 geese and 9,000 turkeys perishing in the storm, the COA said.
After Yunlin, the next hardest-hit were Tainan County, with losses topping NT$173 million, and Nantou County, at NT$157 million.
Kuanghua sees 120,000 visitors
The Kuanghua Digital New Plaza (光華數位新天地), which reopened on Saturday, saw more than 120,000 visitors over the weekend, a Taipei City Government official said yesterday.
The official said that retailers at the plaza gave their thumbs-up to the new building, where delivery services on the first floor provide shoppers with a convenient way to get their high-tech products home.
Shoppers also said that parking lots and shuttle bus services made their shopping trips easier, the official said.
NT dollar weakens slightly
The New Taiwan dollar slightly weakened by NT$0.003 to close at NT$30.363 yesterday against the greenback on turnover of US$686 million.
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