STOCKWATCH: Taiwan electronics -- 2 (industry needs more evidence of recovery)

At 9:57 am, the electronic sector was up 3.42 pct, while the weighted index was up 148.96 points at 5,554.82 on turnover of 32.13 bln twd.	    Grace Lee, a fund manager with JF Assets Management, said despite Dell's expectation that it will meet its first quarter earnings forecasts, it remains to be seen whether other PC and PC related corporates will be able to make investors happy by delivering similar news.	    "The PC retail sales data in the U.S. in January and February was not impressive. We need more evidence to determine whether Dell's confirmation is a trend or just a change for an individual company," Lee said.	    Later this month, major U.S. corporates will release their first quarter earnings, giving the market a clearer picture, Lee said.	    However, Lee said Dell's confirmation is no doubt positive for the PC market.	    "It seems to me that Dell's (news means) the fundamentally good companies are able to weather the impact of an economic slowdown. It is good," Lee said.	    "The U.S. consumes more than 50 pct of the global PC supply. As a major U.S. PC company, Dell's news is encouraging, in particular after the NASDAQ took a dive in the past year," Lee said.	    There has been a sign of a mild recovery in the global PC market, but a real turnaround in the global electronic sector will depend on whether the telecommunication business will stage a similar revival and how soon this improvement will be seen.	    "Taiwan's electronic stocks are expected to continue to trade in a narrow range with investors watching closely their first quarter results due later this month," Lee said.	    Acer rose 8.80 to 23.60 and Quanta gained 6.50 to 122.00.	    First International Computer was limit up at 20.40, Compal limit up at 58.50 and Arima limit up at 41.70.	    UMC rose 2.20 to 51.00 and TSMC gained 3.50 to 83.00. 

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