tw stock 0219

14:10 19Feb09 RTRS-Asustek leads Taiwan stocks up, poor GDP ignored
* Market reverses course on techs, gloomy GDP data ignored
* Asustek jumps on share buyback plan, weaker Taiwan dollar

(Adds details and quotes)
TAIPEI, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Taiwan stocks closed 0.68 percent
higher on Thursday as investors shrugged off a record GDP drop to
bet that recent rush orders and a weaker Taiwan dollar could help
boost earnings at technology exporters such as Asustek <2357.TW>.
The main TAIEX share index <.TWII> ended up 30.50 points at
4,528.87. The market dropped more than 1 percent in early trade
as dismal GDP data weighed, but changed course near midday,
extending a 0.15 percent rise a day earlier.
Turnover was light at T$70.5 billion ($2 billion), but higher
than Wednesday's T$62.9 billion.
The electronics sub-index <.TELI> was up 1.48 percent on
expectations that a weaker Taiwan dollar will help
generate forex gains.
"Tech shares continued to lift the market on rush orders. A
weaker Taiwan dollar also helped," said Andrew Deng, a vice
president of Taiwan International Securities Corp.
"But tech shares' upward momentum could be limited if we
don't see demand rising down the road."
Netbook PC pioneer Asustek, one major beneficiary of the
weaker currency, jumped 3.37 percent after saying it would launch
a share buyback worth up to T$2.88 billion. [ID:nTP135570]
The Taiwan dollar is hovering at a 5-1/2-year low, with the
central bank pushing the currency lower to boost sagging exports.
On Wednesday, Taiwan posted a record annual decline in
economic growth in the fourth quarter, prompting the central bank
to cut interest rate to a record low. [ID:nTP103975]
However, investors soon ignored the negative news.
"Many investors now think the fourth quarter should be the
bottom of the downturn," said Alex Huang, a vice president of
Mega International Securities.
Huang expected the TAIEX to trade between 4,400-4,550 points
for the rest of the week.

HOT STOCKS
-- Compal Electronics <2324.TW>, the world's No. 2 contract
maker of laptop PCs, fell 1.84 percent after posting a 34 percent
fall in fourth-quarter net profit due to weak demand.
[ID:nTP182293]
Compal has added around 10,000 workers in China to cope with
new orders from its clients, a local newspaper said on Thursday.

-- Mediatek Inc <2454.TW>, Taiwan's top microchip designer,
rose 1.95 percent, extending a 2.4 percent gain on Wednesday.
Two analysts said the company was aiming to ship 14 percent more
mobile phone chips this year. [ID:nTP161316]

--------------------TAIEX IN PERSPECTIVE--------------------
Move on day 0.68 percent
Close on day 4,528.87
2009 intraday high 4,817.44
2009 intraday low 4,164.19
All time high 12,682.41 12 FEB 1990
------------------------------------------------------------
For a table of foreign trading in Taiwan stocks, double-click
on [ID:nTP170358]
(US$1=T$34.7)
(Reporting by Gina Chang; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)
((gina.chang@thomsonreuters.com; +886 2 2508-0815; Reuters
Messaging:gina.chang.thomsonreuters.come@reuters.com))
ASIA-PACIFIC STOCK MARKETS:
Pan-Asia......[STXNEWS/AS] Japan........[.T] S.Korea....[.KS]
S.E. Asia............[.SO] Hong Kong...[.HK] Taiwan.....[.TW]
Australia/NZ.........[.AX] India.......[.BO] China......[.SS]
OTHER MARKETS:
Wall Street...........[.N] Gold.........[GOL/] Currency..[FRX/]
Eurostocks...........[.EU] Oil...........[O/R] JP bonds...[JP/]
ADR Report..........[ADR/] LME metals..[MET/L] US bonds...[US/]
Stocks News US...[STXNEWS/US] Stocks News Europe...[STXNEWS/EU]
DIARIES &

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