Taipei shares close slightly higher on bargain-hunting, foreign interest

TAIPEI (AFX-ASIA) - Share prices closed slightly higher, with sentiment bolstered by bargain-hunting and continued foreign investor interest, dealers said.

The buying seen was, however, fairly cautious as relations with cross-straits tensions remain high, they added.

Presidential deputy secretary-general Eugene Chien today stepped in to deny press reports claiming President Chen Shui-bian had said the government will honour a consensus allegedly reached by Taiwan and the mainland in 1992 to leave the question of "one China" to the two sides' respective interpretations. 

The weighted index closed up 16.82 points or 0.32 pct at 5,226.79, off a low of 5,172.05 and a high of 5,246.79. 

Volume was 2.20 bln shares worth 74.02 bln twd. 

Advancers led decliners 256 to 249, with 89 stocks unchanged. 

Some 61 stocks closed limit-up and seven limit-down.

The paper, electronics and cement sectors closed up 3.05 pct, 0.93 pct and 0.84 pct.

The food, textiles, financials, petrochemicals and construction sectors ended down 0.92 pct, 0.91 pct, 0.69 pct, 0.12 pct and 0.12 pct. 

The Taiwan dollar was at 33.406 against the U.S. dollar, from yesterday's close of 33.437.

"Investors apparently locked in profits following the rally over the past two days, but the downside was capped by the interest shown by institutional investors, particularly foreign investors, yesterday," IBT Securities vice president Kevin Liao said.

"Some were willing to hunt for bargains on stock valuations and expectations of limited downside risk, pushing the index back to positive territory at the closing bell."

He said there were expectations that the technology industry may define a bottom this month, although any subsequent recovery in the sector would follow at a slow pace.

Evidence of a recovery in technology stocks was seen particularly in cellular phone handset-related stocks, he said. Acer CM was limit-up 2.70 twd at 41.80.

Among stocks in market focus, shares that went ex-dividend earlier extended their rally, dealers said. Macronix rose 1.80 twd to 35.90, Elitegroup was limit-up 6.50 at 104.50 and Systex gained 1.30 to 43.40.

TSMC fell 0.50 twd to 94.00 on ADR falls despite a report that the company's May book-to-bill ratio is running above 1.0.

VIA Technology lost 3.00 twd to 284.00 following news it is investigating whether Nvidia has infringed its patent rights on core logic technology for chipsets.

Chang Hwa Bank rose 0.10 twd to 16.60 after cutting its prime rate.

Chunghwa Telecom lost 1.00 twd to 63.50 despite news that it plans to re-apply for approval for a previously planned American Depository Receipts issue.

China Motor fell 0.50 twd to 29.00 after the company said it is too early to discuss an increased 2001 earnings forecast.

Cathay Life fell 0.60 twd to 44.00 despite announcing gains of 758.42 mln twd from the sale of TSMC shares and contracts from Kaohsiung City to provide student insurance services. 

Cathay Construction dropped 0.10 to 7.80 twd after AGM approval of its 2000 dividend.

Related stock : (NIL)