Taiwan stocks rise

Taiwan stocks rose 0.63 percent on Monday to a seven-year closing high, with banking shares leading the way after local reports that Morgan Stanley had applied to buy a stake in Chinatrust. The main TAIEX shares index was trapped in a tight range before ending up 56.28 points at 8,939.49.
But lower turnover of T$131.61 billion ($4.0 billion) showed investors' cautious mood after a 14-percent rally so far this year. "The Morgan Stanley news gave a boost to the financial sector," said Grand Cathay Securities analyst Kevin Yeh.
Both of Taiwan's major business dailies reported Morgan Stanley had submitted an application with the economics ministry, and is prepared to invest T$20 billion or more. Chinatrust shares shot up 2.15 percent, helping lift the financial sub-index 0.84 percent higher. The electronics sub-index revered early losses to finish up 0.53 percent.
"The technology industry is recovering, but the question is how strong it will be in the second half," said Yeh, who pegged the TAIEX at between 8,700-9,000 points this week. In Taiwan, major technology firms will start releasing second-quarter earnings from late July and the market will use them to gauge the strength of the tech sector's recovery. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC), the world's top contract chip maker, rose 0.14 percent, but smartphone maker High Tech Computer Corp (HTC) shed 4.94 percent.
HTC's losses came after Apple Inc launched the much-anticipated iPhone, with which the HTC Touch smartphone hopes to compete. One positive news for the market was Taiwan is considering investing 10 to 20 percent of a T$170 billion pension fund in domestic stocks this year in the hope of boosting its returns.
BenQ Corp jumped 6.83 percent, by its daily limit, after the company said on Friday it had hired the president of Qisda Corp, two months after the Taiwan firm unveiled a plan to spin off its struggling BenQ brand to refocus on contract work. Electronics parts maker Delta Electronics Inc gained 0.39 percent after its networking subsidiary priced its IPO to raise HK$1.41 billion ($181 million) in its listing in Hong Kong.