TAIPEI: Taiwan stocks ended up 0.68 percent on Friday, led by HTC and other tech exporters, amid hopes a weaker local currency will bring in forex gains and make them more competitive against Korean rivals.
But property firms slumped 3.85 percent after the finance ministry formally proposed a tax on investment properties as it moves to curb soaring real estate prices.
Electronics stocks were up 1.67 percent, with smartphone maker HTC 7 percent limit up, after the Taiwan dollar weakened in recent sessions in a retreat from 13-year highs hit earlier this month.
"There was great concern that tech companies would be hit hard when the Taiwan currency rose sharply just a few weeks ago. But now the concern has been eased," said Simon Liu, the deputy chief investment officer of Polaris Group's fund unit.
Still, market sentiment was cautious over the unrest in the Middle East, Liu said.
The main TAIEX share index rose 58.01 points to 8,599.65, closing the month with a 6 percent loss. Taiwan's financial markets will be closed on Monday for a public holiday.
The Taiwan depositary receipts of Japan's Elpida Memory gained 1.88 percent on their debut.
"It's not going to be easy for the DRAM sector to see robust growth again," said Sheng, adding he did not own the TDRs."
China Steel, Taiwan's top steel maker, erased earlier gains to close 0.3 percent lower. The company will raise domestic prices by an average of 12.1 percent for April-May, reflecting higher coal prices spurred by recent commodity prices surges.
Foreign investors were net sellers of Taiwan stocks on Thursday, their fourth straight net selling session this week.
That brought total net selling this month to about T$93 billion, almost cancelling out last month's T$99 billion of net buying and on course for the biggest monthly net sales since May 2010.
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