Taiwan stocks ended up 1.35 percent in their best percentage gain in two weeks on Friday, with Wintek and other Apple Inc suppliers in the lead in a rebound from worries over the earthquake and nuclear crisis in Japan. Touch panel maker Wintek surged nearly 5 percent. Largan Precision, which makes lenses used in camera phones, was up 2.9 percent.
The main TAIEX share index closed up 112.06 points at 8,394.75, its best one-day percentage rise since March 3. It closed this week with a loss of about 2 percent. The benchmark index is likely to test the 8,600 point level next week, subject to the latest developments in the Japan nuclear crisis, said Fang.
Among the biggest winners, tourism shares rose 4.2 percent and property jumped 2.8 percent. Electronics and banking were up 1.7 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively. The Taiwan dollar rose by T$0.015 to T$29.559. Foreign investors were net sellers of T$9.4 billion ($318 million) on Thursday, expanding the total sold to T$44 billion so far this month.