Taiwan stocks closed higher for the fourth consecutive day on Friday as investors stocked up shares before the Lunar New Year holidays on optimism about global economic recovery. Fund managers saw pressure after the holidays however due to the possibility of an interest rate rise in China.
"Taiwanese investors like to welcome the Lunar New Year with a higher close; but the market is expecting negative news from China during the holidays," said Kevin Chung, an analyst of Jih Sun Investment Consulting Co. Chung expected tech shares would continue to be the market focus after the holidays due to a positive outlook.
The main TAIEX share index rose 43.02 points to 9,145.35, after opening up 0.22 percent on the last trading day before the Lunar New Year. The Taiwan stock exchange will resume trading on February 8. Plastics shares were the top gainers, up 3.23 percent. Financial shares also outperformed with a 0.8 percent rise. The electronics sub-index was up 0.16 percent, with TSMC, the world's biggest contract chipmaker, reversing early losses to climb 1.46 percent. The company posted a better-than-expected fourth quarter net profit on Thursday.
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