The TAIEX yesterday closed sharply higher after buying was sparked by optimism that major crude oil producers would reach an agreement to cut production in a bid to shore up prices, dealers said.
The petrochemical sector got a significant boost from the optimism toward a possible output reduction deal, while large-cap shares, in particular in the bellwether electronics sector, regained their footing from the doldrums on Wednesday last week, the last trading session ahead of the Tomb Sweeping Day long weekend, dealers added.
The TAIEX closed up 155.11 points, or 1.61 percent, at the day’s high of 9,818.74. Turnover was NT$149.789 billion (US$4.95 billion).
Foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$2.21 billion of shares after a net sell of NT$5.81 billion the previous session, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
The market moved in tandem with a rebound on regional markets such as Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul, as well as Dow Jones Industrial Average futures, which rose 3.4 percent at one point, signaling a good start on Wall Street later in the day.
In the petrochemical sector, shares of Formosa Plastics Corp (台塑) rose 4.3 percent to close at NT$77.6, Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) shares added 3.08 percent to close at NT$80.4, Nan Ya Plastics Corp (南亞塑膠) shares gained 2.98 percent to close at NT$55.3 and Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp (台灣化纖) shares rose 2.72 percent to close at NT$68.
Buying was also seen among large-cap technology shares, led by contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電).
TSMC shares rose 1.47 percent to close at the day’s high of NT$275.5 and led the electronics sector and the semiconductor subindices 1.79 percent and 1.78 percent higher respectively.
Shares of Largan Precision Co (大立光), a supplier of smartphone camera lenses to Apple Inc, rose 2.66 percent to close at NT$3,860 after the company reported revenue of NT$5.44 billion last month, up 48.22 percent from a month earlier.
“Largan benefited from Chinese brand Huawei Technologies Co (華為), which unveiled a new model in March, but without a new product debut in April, Largan could see its sales falling in the month,” Tachan Securities Co (大展證券) analyst Jerry Chen said.
Elsewhere, shares of food conglomerate Uni-President Enterprises Corp (統一企業) rose 5.99 percent to close at NT$69, while those of China Steel Corp (中鋼), the nation’s largest steelmaker, gained 2.39 percent to close at NT$19.25.
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