The TAIEX rose 178.37 points, or 1.9 percent, to close at 9,809.88 points yesterday -- - its highest since April 2000 -- boosted by a Wall Street rally at the end of last week and strong third-quarter earnings and fourth-quarter guidance from electronics companies.
Yesterday's close was also the best after the Democratic Progressive Party came to power, fueling investors' expectation that the local bourse would soon challenge the 10,000 point level.
Risers led decliners 1,319 to 726, with 245 stocks unchanged.
A total of 53 stocks closed limit-up and seven limit-down.
Cecelia Lu of Taiwan International Securities (
"Investor demand has returned to electronics shares," Lu said. "And the significant appreciation of the [New] Taiwan dollar of late also increased demand for asset-rich companies."
Several major stocks' gains led yesterday's seven-year record.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (
Hon Hai paced exporters' gains amid speculation that the worst of the US subprime mortgage crisis was over.
In the US, third-quarter sales at Microsoft Corp beat projections by more than US$1 billion, the world's largest software company said on Thursday. Countrywide Financial Corp, the No. 1 US mortgage lender, said on Friday that last quarter was its "earnings trough'' and that it would return to profit in the current period.
"Corporate earnings are sustainable and will keep the US economy from slowing," said Yin Nai-yun (
Taiwan Semiconductor Manu-facturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world's largest contract chipmaker, advanced NT$2.30, or 3.7 percent, to NT$63.90. TSMC makes about three quarters of its sales to the US.
Acer, the world's fourth-largest computer vendor, jumped NT$4.90, or 6.7 percent, to NT$78.10. Acer chairman Wang Jeng-tang (
United Microelectronics Corp (
In addition, Formosa Plastics Corp (台塑), the world's second-largest maker of polyvinyl chloride, climbed NT$1.50, or 1.5 percent, to NT$99.40. Formosa Plastics' profit in the third quarter surged 65 percent to NT$20.1 billion (US$619 million) from a year earlier. The figure was derived by deducting first-half profit from nine-month earnings the company announced on Friday.
Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控), the second-largest local financial company by market value, gained US$0.85, or 2.8 percent, to NT$31.50. Fubon plans to set up an insurance unit in China through a joint venture, the Chinese-language Commercial Times reported on Saturday, citing property insurer Fubon Insurance Co (富邦產險) president Chen Tsan-huang (陳燦煌).
Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化), the only publicly traded oil refiner, rose NT$2.50, or 2.5 percent, to NT$104.50. Formosa Petrochemical said profit in the first nine months rose 66 percent from a year earlier to NT$51.4 billion.
Nan Ya Plastics Corp. (南亞塑膠), the world's largest processor of plastics for pipes and imitation leather, added NT$1.10, or 1.1 percent, to NT$98.10. Nan Ya posted a 34 percent gain in third-quarter profit to NT$20.7 billion from a year earlier. The figure was derived by deducting first-half profit from nine-month earnings the firm announced.
Taiwan’s Lee Chia-hao (李佳豪) on Sunday won a silver medal at the All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham, England, a career best. Lee, 25, took silver in the final of the men’s singles against world No. 1 Shi Yuqi (石宇奇) of China, who won 21-17, 21-19 in a tough match that lasted 51 minutes. After the match, the Taiwanese player, who ranks No. 22 in the world, said it felt unreal to be challenging an opponent of Shi’s caliber. “I had to be in peak form, and constantly switch my rhythm and tactics in order to score points effectively,” he said. Lee got
EMBRACING TAIWAN: US lawmakers have introduced an act aiming to replace the use of ‘Chinese Taipei’ with ‘Taiwan’ across all Washington’s federal agencies A group of US House of Representatives lawmakers has introduced legislation to replace the term “Chinese Taipei” with “Taiwan” across all federal agencies. US Representative Byron Donalds announced the introduction of the “America supports Taiwan act,” which would mandate federal agencies adopt “Taiwan” in place of “Chinese Taipei,” a news release on his page on the US House of Representatives’ Web site said. US representatives Mike Collins, Barry Moore and Tom Tiffany are cosponsors of the legislation, US political newspaper The Hill reported yesterday. “The legislation is a push to normalize the position of Taiwan as an autonomous country, although the official US
CHANGE OF TONE: G7 foreign ministers dropped past reassurances that there is no change in the position of the G7 members on Taiwan, including ‘one China’ policies G7 foreign ministers on Friday took a tough stance on China, stepping up their language on Taiwan and omitting some conciliatory references from past statements, including to “one China” policies. A statement by ministers meeting in Canada mirrored last month’s Japan-US statement in condemning “coercion” toward Taiwan. Compared with a G7 foreign ministers’ statement in November last year, the statement added members’ concerns over China’s nuclear buildup, although it omitted references to their concerns about Beijing’s human rights abuses in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong. Also missing were references stressing the desire for “constructive and stable relations with China” and
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it has lodged a protest with Pretoria after the name of the Taipei Liaison Office in South Africa was changed to the “Taipei Commercial Office” on the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation’s (DIRCO) Web site. In October last year, the South African government asked Taiwan to relocate the Taipei Liaison Office, the nation’s de facto embassy, out of Pretoria. It later agreed to continue negotiating through official channels, but in January asked that the office be relocated by the end of this month. As of the middle of last month, DIRCO’s Web
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