Taipei shares outlook: Higher on Wall St/DRAM price recovery hopes

TAIPEI (AFX-ASIA) - Share prices are expected to open higher on the back of continued gains on Wall Street overnight and hopes for a DRAM price recovery on speculation Hyundai Electronics may curb production, dealers said. They said foreign institutional investor support and fresh interest in semiconductor stocks may outweigh concerns over internet-related firms' prospects after Yahoo!'s profit warning. Yesterday, the weighted index closed up 142.07 points at 5,777.13 on turnover of 108.99 bln twd. Foreign institutions were net buyers of shares worth 7.94 bln twd, local investment trusts net buyers of 1.10 bln twd and brokers net buyers of 103.05 mln twd. Truswell Securities Investment assistant vice president Michael Hsu said semiconductor stocks may lead the electronics sector higher on expectations of a DRAM price recovery. "There are hopes that lower supply from Hyundai, if it comes about, will spark a DRAM price recovery," Hsu said. He said China plays will be negatively affected by disappointment over news that China expects no merger of its A-share and B-share markets for 5-10 years. The broad market may also experience pressure soon following the recent gains.

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