Taiwan stocks up

Taiwan stocks and currency rose on Monday following gains on Wall Street and regional bourses, with financial firms such as Cathay Financial Holding leading the gainers. As of 0226 GMT, the main TAIEX index rose 0.6 percent to 9,514.77, after closing at 9,455.56 in the previous session. The electronics subindex rose 0.3 percent, while the financials subindex jumped 1.5 percent.
Cathay, parent of Taiwan's biggest life insurer, rallied nearly 3 percent. Smaller rival Fubon Financial Holding advanced 2.5 percent The Taiwan dollar firmed T$0.165 to T$30.885 per US dollar, hitting its strongest level in 19 months. Asian shares edged ahead on Monday as Wall Street gathered momentum into a busy week of earnings with more than 100 major companies due to report, while the dollar was again hobbled by a lack of progress on US fiscal stimulus.