Share prices closed up 2.63 percent yesterday as investors turned optimistic on the electronics sector, dealers said.
The weighted index rose 184.46 points at 7,209.04, off a low of 7,000.75 and a high of 7,216.58, on turnover of US$128.75 billion (US$4.17 billion). Gainers led decliners by 1,796 to 381 with 355 stocks unchanged.
Yesterday’s strong rebound came despite Wall Street’s overnight plunge, Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting (元大投顧) analyst Young Wang said.
“The gains were beyond market expectations, in particular, after heavy losses in the US markets. Local market sentiment has improved due to the strong showing,” Wang said.
Wang said the rebound was likely to continue next week: “The local market had been badly hit by US credit woes and Wall Street volatility so that the current low valuations cannot reflect economic fundamentals.”
For the week through yesterday, the TAIEX closed up 206.5 points, or 2.95 percent, after a 3.19 percent fall last week.
Average daily turnover stood at US$100.76 billion, compared with US$84.01 billion a week ago.
“Investors have been relieved to some extent after Friday’s strong showing. Such sentiment is expected to dominate market movements over the next few sessions,” Grand Cathay Securities (大華證券) analyst Mars Hsu said.
The electronic sector is likely to help the upside, Hsu said.
“A weakening Taiwan dollar will no doubt strengthen the sector’s global competitiveness. Several electronic heavyweights have voiced confidence in the outlook. These are quite positive,” Hsu said.
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