TAIEX gains 0.68 percent
The TAIEX closed up 0.68 percent yesterday as buying was triggered by a strong rebound on Wall Street overnight because of better-than-expected US manufacturing activity data last month, dealers said.
The TAIEX rose 52.57 points to 7,720.82, after moving between 7,715.31 and 7,780.53, on turnover of NT$115.78 billion (US$3.62 billion).
The market opened up 1.24 percent in a knee-jerk reaction to Wall Street’s 2.2 percent rise and gains posted by other major markets in the region, but after the index moved closer to the nearest resistance at about 7,800, profit-taking emerged, dealers said.
A total of 2,378 stocks closed up and 1,302 down, with 310 remaining unchanged.
Bank posts NT$663m profit
Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合作金庫銀行) posted a net profit of NT$663 million last month, boosting its accumulated net income to NT$5.03 billion for the first eight months, the bank said yesterday in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange. That translates into NT$0.93 earnings per share, the filing said.
The state-run bank had a net worth of NT$114.35 billion as of Tuesday. In addition, the lender said it would transfer 100 million shares it bought back from the market in 2008 to employees at the price of NT$18.98 per share.
Employees intent on purchasing may do so between Tuesday next week and Sept. 16, the filing said.
III to work with Indian center
The Taiwan-based Institute for Information Industry (III, 資策會) said on Wednesday that it would collaborate with India’s Center of Excellence in Wireless and Information Technology (CEWIT) to develop 4G broadband wireless technologies and products.
The III and CEWIT signed a three-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) focusing on R&D in Taipei on Wednesday, marking the first cooperation agreement between the institutes, the III said.
The deal aims to help Taiwanese manufacturers become core network equipment suppliers, it said.
The institutes will start with cooperation in developing 4G relay station technologies, hoping that new communication products enable Taiwan’s manufacturers — mostly focused on original equipment manufacturing businesses — to earn higher profit margins by making network equipment instead of customer premises equipment, the III said in a press release.
Over-the-counter sales up 42%
Combined revenue from over-the-counter (OTC) companies in Taiwan totaled NT$708.8 billion (US$22.1 billion) in the first half of this year, up 42 percent from the same period last year, according to a report released yesterday by the GRETAI Securities Market.
The companies posted a pre-tax profit of NT$59 billion in the first six months, which represents an increase of NT$84.7 billion from last year, when a pre-tax loss of NT$25.7 billion was recorded.
The largest growth was seen in the semiconductor, electronic parts and components, photonics, computer and peripheral equipment, and financial sectors.
During the same period, revenue of emerging companies totaled NT$290.4 billion, a rise of 58 percent year-on-year. The companies reported pre-tax profit of NT$26.4 billion, a major improvement from last year, which saw a pre-tax loss of NT$3.1 billion.
The best performers in terms of pre-tax profit were the semiconductor, photonics, electronic parts and components, and steel industries.
NT rises against US dollar
The New Taiwan dollar rose against the US dollar, up NT$0.035 to close at NT$32.040.
Turnover totaled US$487 million during the trading session.
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