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14:35 29Apr09 RTRS-Taiwan stocks bounce from 3-wk low; financials up * Financials gain amid news of potential China investment * Tourism shares down on swine flu fears * UMC up before saying expects to return to profit in Q2 * Acer down ahead of Q1 results By Gina Chang TAIPEI, April 29 (Reuters) - Taiwan stocks rose 0.31 percent on Wednesday as investors snapped up beaten-down financials after recent heavy sell-offs triggered by concerns over swine flu. The main TAIEX share index <.TWII> closed up 17.33 points at 5,614.06, rebounding from a near three-week low the previous session. Turnover was active at T$112.5 billion ($3.3 billion), lower than T$126.9 billion on Thuesday. Sentiment rose on news that China had established rules allowing its companies to invest in Taiwan from May 1, an important step in unleashing potentially vast financial flows across the Taiwan Strait. [nPEK179426] The financial sub-index <.TFNI> was up 1.23 percent following a 7 percent drop over the past two days. Cathay Financial <2882.tw>, the island's largest listed financial holding firm, ended 0.29 percent higher. Bank of China <601988.ss> <3988.hk> has said it expects to be the first mainland bank to enter the Taiwan market. "Investors are snapping some shares that dropped a lot in the past two days. But the downward trend could resume if fears over the swine flu break grow," said Wang Kao-hsiung, a vice president of KGI Securities. China Airlines <2610.tw> rose 6.3 percent, following a 13 percent drop over the previous two sessions, while EVA Airways <2618.tw> rose 2.22 percent. The transportation sub-index <.TTPI> rose 1.08 percent, recouping some losses early in the session. But the tourism sub-index <.THOI> continued to decline on flu worries, closing the session 3.67 percent lower. Hotel chain operator Leofoo Development <2705.tw> was down 6.12 percent. Investors were also watching closely first-quarter results of a batch of major tech firms, including UMC <2303.tw>, Acer <2353.tw>, Quanta <2382.tw> and Compal <2324.tw>. Shares of UMC , the world's No.2 contract chip maker, were up 3.57 percent before saying that it expected to return to profit in the second quarter. [nTPU001332] PC vendor Acer fell 0.17 percent. After the market close, the firm said its net profit fell 31.4 percent, missing market expectations. [nTPV001329] Chip designer Mediatek <2454.tw> fell 1.83 percent. The firm posted a better-than-expected net profit in the first quarter after market close. [nTPV001330] Shares of Quanta, the world's top contract notebook PC maker, declined 0.57 percent while crosstown rival Compal gained 1.15 percent. UMC's larger rival TSMC <2330.tw> rose 1.18 percent after a newspaper said it had revised its forecast for the global semiconductor industry this year to a 20 percent decline from a 30 percent slide previously, largely due to orders from China. TSMC will announce its first-quarter earnings after the market close on Thursday. HOT STOCKS -- Chi Mei <3009.tw>, Taiwan's No.2 LCD maker, fell 5.23 percent after posting a third straight quarter of loss for the first three months this year, and forecast a rise in shipments and panel prices in the second quarter amid recovering demand. [ID:nTP69732] -- Shin Kong Financial <2888.tw> rose 1.01 percent after saying late on Tuesday it plans to raise funds through a private placement and rights issue that will not exceed 2 billion shares to boost working capital and improve its financial structure. [ID:nTP125589] --------------------TAIEX IN PERSPECTIVE-------------------- Move on day 0.31 percent Close on day 5,614.06 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$33.7) (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] 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
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