tw stock 0422

14:11 22Apr09 RTRS-Hotels, DRAMs push Taiwan stocks to 1-wk high * Market up for third straight session * Tourism shares gain on loosened Chinese tourist quota * DRAM makers limit up on rising product prices * Acer shares rises on upbeat smartphone sales target (Adds details and quotes) TAIPEI, April 22 (Reuters) - Taiwan stocks inched up 0.08 percent on Wednesday to a one-week closing high, with tourism shares such as Formosa Hotel <2707.tw> rising after the island raised its permit quota for visitors from China. The main TAIEX share index <.TWII> ended up 4.70 points at 5,886.11, its highest finish since April 16 and a third session of gains. Turnover was active at T$135.5 billion ($4.0 billion), rising from Tuesday's T$122.4 billion. The tourism sub-index <.THOI> rose 2.87 percent after Taiwan late on Tuesday raised its Chinese tourist permit quota from 3,000 per day to 7,200 through May 1. [ID:nTP49527] Hotel chain operators Formosa International Hotels and Leofoo Development Co <2705.tw> climbed 2.93 percent and 3.88 percent, respectively. "Current ties with China will continue to be favourable for tourism shares," said Robert Hsieh, a vice president at Shin Kong Investment Trust." Top negotiators from Taiwan and China are set on Saturday to meet for a third round of summit for talks on opening up financial sectors on both sides and expanding direct flights. "Though the positive factors from the meeting have mostly been factored in the broader market, we can still expect some boost when the meeting actually takes place later this week," said Hsieh. The food sub-index <.TFII> advanced 3.82 percent, buoyed by a newspaper report that food and beverage company Master Kong, an unlisted unit of Tingyi Group <0322.hk>, posted a record net profit of $362 million last year. Wei-chuan Foods <1201.tw>, a major Taiwan food and beverage maker, jumped by its 7-percent daily limit. Adding further optimism, Hong Kong-listed Want Want China <0151.hk>, a China-based food and beverage unit of Taiwan's Want Want Group, said on Tuesday it priced its offering of Taiwan Depositary Receipts (TDRs) at the high end of their range. [ID:nTP38265] However, financial shares weighed on the market as investors continued to book profits from a rally of over 34 percent since the beginning of March. The financial sub-index <.TFNI> fell 0.95 percent while Cathay Financial <2882.tw>, Taiwan's largest listed financial holding firm, ended the session 2.12 percent lower. In the tech sector, DRAM shares led the climb on rising spot prices. DRAM companies have been cutting production since last year to cope with oversupply as demand fell amid the downturn. Shares of Powerchip <5346.two>, the island's biggest DRAM firm, jumped by their 7 percent daily limit. Nanya Tech <2408.tw> and ProMOS <5387.tw> also finished limit-up. On Wednesday, larger Japanese rival Elpida Memory <6665.t> said it plans to hike memory prices about 50 percent next month after output cuts eased oversupply. [ID:nT338964] Shares of Acer Inc <2353.tw>, the world's third-largest computer maker, rose 2.18 percent after saying it plans to sell more than a million smartphones in 2010 and aims to take a 6-7 percent share of the market in three years. [nTP38556] AU Optronics <2409.tw>, Taiwan's No.1 LCD maker, ended 1.71 percent lower ahead of announcing its first-quarter earnings on Thursday. Investors will also focus on the island's March unemployment rate due out later in the day. Some local media said the rate could exceed 6 percent to a record level. HOT STOCKS -- China Airlines <2610.tw> fell 3.16 percent after a newspaper cited a senior airline executive as saying the company would not cut ticket prices on its cross-strait flights even if the number of flights doubled. --------------------TAIEX IN PERSPECTIVE-------------------- Move on day 0.08 percent Close on day 5,886.11 2009 intraday high 6,071.06 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$33.8) (Reporting by Gina Chang) ((gina.chang@thomsonreuters.com; +886 2 2508-0815; Reuters Messaging:gina.chang.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.com)) ((If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.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]
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