The TAIEX rose to a 21-month high in the first trading day since the market closed for the Lunar New Year holiday on Jan. 19.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) led gains on optimism fourth-quarter profit probably jumped six-fold as the global electronics industry rebounded from a three-year slump, according to analysts polled by Bloomberg News.
The TAIEX rose 114.92, or 1.8 percent, to 6,384.63, the highest since April 24, 2002. About seven stocks gained for every one that fell. The Taiwan Futures Index added 1.4 percent to 6,370.
The TAIEX Electronics Index was the biggest gainer as a group. Shares rose after Texas Instruments Inc, the world's biggest maker of semiconductors that power mobile phones, said it had a fourth-quarter profit of US$512 million as the company had its highest sales in three years.
About 6.1 billion shares changed hands, 59 percent above average daily trading in the past three months. Shares worth NT$140 billion (US$4.17 billion) traded, 67 percent above the three- month daily average.
``Many investors believe they will have better luck with stocks in the new year and bought shares on the first trading day,'' Simon Chao (趙永宏), who manages US$17 million at President Investment Trust Corp.
China Airlines gained NT$1.10, or 6.6 percent, to NT$17.80. Fourth-quarter profit jumped 49 percent after demand for travel recovered following the containment of the SARS virus and exports of consumer-electronic components rose, the company said on Jan. 19.
Profit climbed to about NT$1.29 billion in the last three months of the year, from NT$865 million a year earlier.
China Motor Corp rose NT$1, or 1.7 percent, to NT$61. Southeast Motor Co, a car-making venture between China Motor and the government of Fujian Province, plans to increase sales by 80 percent to as many as 150,000 cars this year in China, where total demand is forecast at 5 million vehicles, the company said on Jan. 20. Southeast Motor's sales last year rose to 83,533 vehicles from 47,068 in 2002.
D-Link Corp, a communications-equipment maker, gained NT$1.70, or 3.9 percent, to NT$45.30.
VIA Technologies shed NT$1.70, or 3.6 percent, to NT$46.
EVA Airways Corp rose NT$1, or 6.4 percent, to NT$16.60. Fourth quarter net income jumped to NT$1.84 billion from NT$566 million a year ago, helped by accelerating exports and the return of travelers after the containment of SARS, the company said on Jan. 19.
Sales climbed 6.8 percent to NT$19.1 billion, according to preliminary revenue figures on the Taiwan Stock Exchange Web site.
UPDATED (3:40pm): A suspected gas explosion at a shopping mall in Taichung this morning has killed four people and injured 20 others, as emergency responders continue to investigate. The explosion occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi in Situn District (西屯) at 11:33am. One person was declared dead at the scene, while three people were declared deceased later after receiving emergency treatment. Another 20 people sustained major or minor injuries. The Taichung Fire Bureau said it received a report of the explosion at 11:33am and sent rescuers to respond. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, it said. The National Fire
ALL-IN-ONE: A company in Tainan and another in New Taipei City offer tours to China during which Taiwanese can apply for a Chinese ID card, the source said The National Immigration Agency and national security authorities have identified at least five companies that help Taiwanese apply for Chinese identification cards while traveling in China, a source said yesterday. The issue has garnered attention in the past few months after YouTuber “Pa Chiung” (八炯) said that there are companies in Taiwan that help Taiwanese apply for Chinese documents. Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) last week said that three to five public relations firms in southern and northern Taiwan have allegedly assisted Taiwanese in applying for Chinese ID cards and were under investigation for potential contraventions of the Act Governing
STAY WARM: Sixty-three nontraumatic incidents of OHCA were reported on Feb. 1, the most for a single day this year, the National Fire Agency said A total of 415 cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) occurred this month as of Saturday, data from the National Fire Agency showed as doctors advised people to stay warm amid cold weather, particularly people with cardiovascular disease. The Central Weather Administration yesterday issued a low temperature warning nationwide except for Penghu County, anticipating sustained lows of 10°C or a dip to below 6°C in Nantou, Yilan, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as areas north of Yunlin County. The coldest temperature recorded in flat areas of Taiwan proper yesterday morning was 6.4°C in New Taipei City’s Shiding District (石碇). Sixty-three nontraumatic OHCA
ACCOUNTABILITY: The incident, which occured at a Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store in Taichung, was allegedly caused by a gas explosion on the 12th floor Shin Kong Group (新光集團) president Richard Wu (吳昕陽) yesterday said the company would take responsibility for an apparent gas explosion that resulted in four deaths and 26 injuries at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Zhonggang Store in Taichung yesterday. The Taichung Fire Bureau at 11:33am yesterday received a report saying that people were injured after an explosion at the department store on Section 3 of Taiwan Boulevard in Taichung’s Situn District (西屯). It sent 56 ambulances and 136 paramedics to the site, with the people injured sent to Cheng Ching Hospital’s Chung Kang Branch, Wuri Lin Shin Hospital, Taichung Veterans General Hospital or Chung