TAIEX closes above 7,400
The TAIEX closed above the 7,400-point level yesterday for the first time in nearly two months on hopes that major central banks will lower interest rates to spark the fragile global economy, dealers said.
Large cap stocks in both the high-tech and old economy sectors attracted buying interest because of what investors saw as relatively low valuations following a recent period of consolidation, they said.
The weighted index closed up 73.20 points, or 1 percent, at 7,418.36 — the highest close since May 11 — after moving between 7,357.67 and 7,431.70, on turnover of NT$77.06 billion (US$2.58 billion).
In trading yesterday, food shares scored the highest gains among the eight major sectors of the market, finishing up 2.1 percent.
Warrants issued on 1,009 stocks
Securities companies issued warrants on 1,009 underlying stocks last month, compared with 1,242 in May, the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) said yesterday.
Yuanta Securities (元大證券) issued warrants on 169 underlying stocks, the largest number, followed by SinoPac Securities (永豐金證券) with 107, KGI Securities (凱基證券) with 100, Fubon Securities (富邦證券) with 91 and Capital Securities (群益證券) with 75, the TWSE said. The value of the warrants issued totaled NT$16.85 billion (US$564 million), compared with NT$21.16 billion recorded in May, the exchange said.
FSC approves yuan bonds
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday approved plans to allow local listed firms to issue yuan bonds overseas to fund expansions in China.
The commission also encouraged local lenders’ offshore banking units (OBUs) to purchase such corporate bonds to better utilize yuan deposits. Yuan deposits total 13.84 billion yuan (US$604.52 million) as of the end of May, the commission said.
The opening is intended to help meet capital needs of Taiwanese firms with cross-strait operations and boost profitability among OBUs, the regulator said, adding that proceeds raised from yuan bond issuance must not be wired back to Taiwan under any fashion.
Steel-dumping probe terminated
The Ministry of Finance yesterday announced it would terminate its investigation of an anti-dumping complaint filed by China Steel Corp (CSC, 中鋼) over cheap steel imports from South Korea, Japan, China and India.
The announcement indicated the government would not levy anti-dumping duties on these imports.
The ministry’s decision follows the conclusion of the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ International Trade Commission (ITC) in May that hot rolled steel plates imports from South Korea and India did not cause substantial damage to the domestic market.
As for the other two kinds of steel imports — carbon steel cold rolled flat products and low grade non grain-oriented electrical steel — originally filed by the CSC, the company withdrew the filings on its own in April, the finance ministry said.
DBS unveils finance app
DBS Bank Taiwan yesterday unveiled a mobile app in yet another bid to strengthen its consumer banking business.
The lender’s mobile app provides the latest financial news, foreign exchange updates, investment information, interest rates, fund performance inquiry and other services, DBS Taiwan said in a media briefing.
NT dollar rises slightly
The New Taiwan dollar gained ground against the US dollar yesterday, adding NT$0.019 to close at NT$29.886. Turnover totaled US$576 million during the trading session.
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