TAIEX edges higher
The TAIEX closed up 0.37 percent yesterday, reversing earlier losses on Wall Street’s overnight fall, dealers said.
The weighted index rose 20.63 points to 5,576.85 on turnover of NT$117.41 billion (US$3.53 billion. Gainers outnumbered losers by 1,100 to 925 with 135 stocks unchanged.
“The focus is shifting to the improving market outlook in the second quarter,” Daiwa Securities trader David Li said.
Sentiment was also boosted by the buying up of some financial shares after Goldman Sachs raised the target prices of several financial holding companies after recent gains on the local bourse, analysts said.
Sinyi sees revenues grow
Sinyi Realty Co (信義房屋) chairman Chou Chun-chi (周俊吉) said yesterday that the number of real estate transactions had shown lively growth since last month, but that the performance of the real estate market in the second half will still depend on a global recovery.
Taiwan’s only listed property broker saw revenues from real estate transactions surge more than 70 percent last month from February, after it persuaded 10,000 sellers to lower their prices by an average 8 percent.
“Prices are the key,” Chou said, adding that buyers would be encouraged to enter the market if prices are reasonable.
Shin Kong Mitsukoshi A11 department store building’s successful auction on Friday showed that commercial property market is gradually regaining its momentum, Chou said.
Cathay buys CAL debt
Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控), the nation’s largest financial services company, said in a stock exchange filing yesterday that its units bought at least NT$4.8 billion (US$143 million) in corporate bonds issued by China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空).
Cathay’s announcement came after Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) said on Friday that it had signed up for NT$3 billion of CAL’s three-year bonds. CAL said last week it planned to issue NT$10 billion in bonds this year to repay debt.
Nanya planning price rise
Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技), the nation’s second-largest computer memory chipmaker, plans to raise prices of its semiconductors between 15 percent and 20 percent during the first half of this month.
The chipmaker is in talks with clients, including Hewlett-Packard Co and Dell Inc, about the price increase, a company official said yesterday after the Chinese-language United Evening News reported that Nanya was planning to raise chip prices by at least 10 percent because of rising demand.
Science Park sees rebound
Turnover at the Central Taiwan Science Park (中部科學園區) in February reached NT$10.3 billion (US$309 million), 20 percent month-on-month growth from January’s NT$8.6 billion, the park administration reported on Monday.
Thanks to gradually rebounding business sentiment across the world, the park’s revenue has grown month-on-month during the first two months of this year after it plunged during the fourth quarter of last year because of the global financial crisis, administration officials said.
Outperforming other sectors, the precision machinery industry recorded an outstanding growth rate of 37 percent in the January to February period, officials said.
NT dollar rally ends
Halting a five-session rally, the New Taiwan dollar fell against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday, declining NT$0.319 to close at NT$33.569.
Turnover was US$937 million.
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