TAIPEI: Taiwan stocks rose on Wednesday, led by defensive plays such as department stores and cement counters, but cautious investors kept watch for signs that European leaders might take concrete steps to tackle the debt crisis.
Fund managers expected the main share index to trade in a narrow range on a downward track, with buying mostly in electronics shares due to low valuations and the upcoming release of Apple Inc's new products.
"In the short term, shares will trace the European markets; but the long term trend is still going downward," said Chu Yen-min, a senior vice president of KGI Securities.
At 0146 GMT, the main TAIEX index rose 0.61 percent to 7,133.07 point, after opening up 0.82 percent.
Electronics shares climbed 1.12 percent, with smartphone maker HTC Corp and computer contract maker Quanta rising 4.02 percent and 4.3 percent respectively.
Apple's suppliers were still mixed, with Pegatron and Largan Precision up 2.94 percent and 2.86 percent respectively, while Wintek shares fell 2.59 percent.
The California-based company reportedly has picked next week to unveil its much-awaited new iPhone, which analysts say will have a bigger screen and work better with remote computing services.
The financial sub-index edged up 0.69 percent.
The Taiwan dollar was up 0.11 percent to T$30.422.
Foreign investors were net buyers on Tuesday, picking up T$1.215 billion.
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