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14:16 06Mar09 RTRS-Taiwan stocks close at two-month high, DRAM falls * Market rises for 4th day as tech stocks lead * TSMC, Chi Mei jump, boosted by China subsidy programmes * DRAM stocks drop despite government move * US bank issue losses weigh on financial shares (Adds details and quotes) By Gina Chang TAIPEI, March 6 (Reuters) - Taiwan stocks rose 0.35 percent on Friday to a two-month closing high, as tech shares such as TSMC <2330.tw> jumped on rising China demand, but DRAM stocks fell after news of the government's restructuring plans. The main TAIEX share index <.TWII> ended up 16.43 points at 4,653.63, marking its strongest close since Jan. 7, and has gained 5.1 percent after rising for four straight sessions. Turnover was light at T$84.6 billion ($2.4 billion), much lower than Thursday's T$106.8 billion. "China's subsidies in home electronics purchases in rural areas boosted tech shares like TSMC and Chi Mei, helping the market buck Wall Street losses," said Andrew Deng, a vice president of Taiwan International Securities. The electronics sub-index <.TELI> rose 1.48 percent, with shares of TSMC and LCD maker Chi Mei <3009.tw> both jumping more than 4 percent. Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world's top contract chip maker, were further propped up after Deutsche Bank raised its 2009 earnings per share forecast and target price on the chip maker to T$55 from T$48. [nTP178323] Its rise helped boost the semiconductor sub-index <.TSII> by 2.52 percent. The world's No.3 PC vendor, Acer <2353.tw>, fell 0.42 percent, surrendering early gains as investor locked in profits. A newspaper reported on Friday Acer was the only Taiwan PC firm to win the bidding for low-cost PC projects that China is implementing as part of an effort to boost its economy. However, DRAM shares dropped as some analysts said the government was not quick enough to come out with a plan to support the sector. "There's still a long way ahead to save the DRAM sector. There's also doubt about what Taiwan can offer in exchange for technology from foreign rivals," said Michael On, a managing director of Beyond Asset Management. On expected the market to trade between 4,500 and 4,700 points next week. Taiwan said on Thursday it would set up a new company in six months to pull together its DRAM makers and bring in technology from Japan's Elpida <6665.t> or U.S.-based Micron to overhaul the sector. [ID:nSEO107706] [nTP175515] Powerchip <5346.two>, the island's top DRAM maker, dropped its 7 percent daily limit, while smaller rivals Nanya Technology <2408.tw> and ProMOS <5387.two> dropped 5.78 percent and 1.63 percent, respectively. Another top laggard was the financial sub-index <.TFNI>, which dropped 1.5 percent as losses in U.S. bank stocks sparked investor worries over the health of world financial system. Cathay Financial <2882.tw>, the island's top listed financial holding firm, slid 2.5 percent. HOT STOCKS -- Hon Hai Precision <2317.tw>, Taiwan's top electronics gear maker, fell 0.13 percent ahead of the announcement of its fourth-quarter results due later in the day. --------------------TAIEX IN PERSPECTIVE-------------------- Move on day 0.35 percent Close on day 4,653.63 2009 intraday high 4,817.44 2009 intraday low 4,164.19 All time high 12,682.41 12 FEB 1990 ------------------------------------------------------------ (US$1=T$34.9) ((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 & DATA: IPO diary & data Asia earnings diary [ASIA/EQTY] U.S. earnings diary [RESF/US] European diary [WEU/EQTY] Taiwan diary [TW/DIARY] Wall Street Week Ahead [.N/O] Eurostocks Week Ahead [.EU/O] World forecasts TOP NEWS: For top Asian company news, double click on: [nTOPEQA] U.S. company news [TOP/EQU] European company news [TOP/EQE] Forex news [TOP/FRX] Global Economy news [TOP/MACRO] Technology news [TOP/TECH] Telecoms news [TOP/TELCO] Media news [TOP/MEDIA] Banking news [TOP/FIN] Politics/General news [TOP/G] Asia Macro data A multimedia version of Reuters Top News is available at: http://topnews.session.rservices.com LIVE PRICES & DATA: World Stocks <0#.index> Currency rates Dow Jones/NASDAQ <.DJI> <.IXIC> Nikkei <.N225> FTSE 100 <.FTSE> Debt <0#usbmk=> Taiwan dollar LME price overview TAIWAN MARKET: Taiwan equity mkt TAIEX <.TWII><.TV.TW> Other indices <0#.inx.tw> TAISDAQ <.TWOII><.TV.TWO> TAIMEX Taiwan index futures <0#tx:> MSCI Taiwan index <.MSTW> SIMEX Taiwan index futures <0#stw:> FTSE TW50 index <.FTSETW50> Keywords: MARKETS TAIWAN STOCKS/
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