Taipei shares close higher as bargain-hunting reverses early losses

Taipei shares close higher as bargain-hunting reverses early losses - UPDATE

	Published : Tue, 17 Jul 2007 07:58 By : Agencies Print this Story

TAIPEI (XFN-ASIA) - Share prices closed higher as position-building gained momentum late morning, helping reverse early morning losses caused by profit-taking, dealers said.

The dramatic shift from profit-taking to bargain-hunting, particularly among technology bellwethers, reflects the eagerness of investors who missed out on the recent share run-up which pushed the benchmark index above 9,500 points, they added.

The weighted index closed up 92.41 points or 0.98 pct at 9,509.73, off a low of 9,337.67 and a high of 9,513.95, on turnover of 197.02 bln twd.

'We had both profit-taking and bargain-hunting at work today,' said an analyst with a leading local house.

With signs that the moderate wave of selling after today's opening bell may not drive the market down much further, investors who had not built up their positions to adequate levels previously were determined that they should not miss out again, he added.

He also said that it might not yet be too late to hitch a ride on the anticipated liquidity run in the months ahead leading up to the parliamentary and presidential elections early next year - especially as it is bound to be supported by the government's market-friendly initiatives.

Risers led decliners today by 988 to 437, with 152 stocks unchanged.

A total of 125 stocks closed limit-up while six were limit-down.

The heavily weighted financial sector was up 1.43 pct and electronics gained 1.01 pct.

The cement sector rose 3.22 pct, paper up 3.19 pct, construction was up 2.99 pct, food grew 1.46 pct, textiles climbed 1.03 pct and plastic/petrochemicals advanced up 0.89 pct.

The Taiwan dollar closed the morning at 32.825/dollar, compared with the previous close of 32.808.

Cathay Financial closed up 3.70 twd at 92.00 and Shin Kong Financial was higher 1.00 at 42.00.

Makers of LCD panels regained momentum after a recent correction, with AU Optronics up 1.60 to 57.30 and Chi Mei Optoelectronics gaining 0.50 to 39.05. Innolux, however, was down 2.50 at 159.50.

TSMC rose 0.20 to 72.70 while UMC was down 0.05 at 20.00.

Hon Hai was up 1.00 at 284.00 as bargain-hunting pulled it up from a low of 276.00.

Acer rose 1.00 to 69.00 on news that it booked a capital gain of of 76.38 mln twd from the sale of 20.87 mln shares of China Development Financial.

China Development Financial gained 0.25 at 15.15.

Select non-tech heavyweights also extended gains, with Taiwan Cement up 1.75 at 41.25 and Far Eastern Textile higher by 0.50 to 39.00.

(1 usd = 32.80 twd)

philip.wang@afxasia.com

pw/kmq

xfnpw/xfnkm

The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.

Taipei shares close higher as bargain-hunting reverses early losses - UPDATE