Taipei shares outlook - Higher on Wall St rally, Taiwan dollar gains, UMC ruling

Taipei shares outlook - Higher on Wall St rally, Taiwan dollar gains, UMC ruling

	Published : Mon, 29 Oct 2007 01:09 By : Agencies Print this Story

TAIPEI (XFN-ASIA) - Share prices are expected to open higher after Wall Street's rally Friday, a stronger local currency and a favorable legal ruling for United Microelectronics Corp (UMC), dealers said.

The Hsinchu District Court on Friday cleared three executives of UMC, including honorary chairman Robert Tsao, of charges on breach of trust and faulty accounting in relation to Chinese chip maker HeJian Technology (Suzhou) Co Ltd.

It also cleared UMC honorary vice chairman John Hsuan and TC Cheng, president of UMC's wholly owned investment arm, of similar charges for their alleged roles in the company's offer of assistance for the establishment of the Chinese company, in defiance of local regulations.

On Friday, the weighted index closed up 63.25 points or 0.66 pct at 9,631.51, on turnover of 139.41 bln twd.

Foreign investors were net buyers of shares worth 7.63 bln twd, local investment trusts were net buyers of shares worth 62.85 mln twd, and brokers were net buyers of shares worth 1.79 bln twd.

Alex Huang, an assistant vice president with Mega International Investment Services Co Ltd, said positive foreign and domestic leads should further boost the local bourse today.

'The firmer Wall Street showing should drive the domestic market, with appreciation in the local current to inject momentum into the equity market.'

He said strength in UMC American Depositary Shares after the court ruling could also affect the spot shares and sentiment towards other local semiconductor stocks.

In addition, companies due to report solid earnings results for the third quarter could also attract attention, Huang added.

(1 usd = 32.50 twd)

adela.lin@afxasia.com

xfnal/xfntm

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