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14:38 22May09 RTRS-Taiwan stocks at 9-mth closing high after GDP data * Market up on hopes worst was over for Taiwan economy * Market up 3.8 pct this week, No.4 best performer globally * Builders top winners on China hopes, stronger T$ * Market seen trading in tight range next week due to holiday * AU falls after saying strong demand pressure supplies (Adds comments, hot stocks) By Faith Hung TAIPEI, May 22 (Reuters) - Taiwan stocks rose 0.28 percent on Friday to a nine-month closing high on optimism the island's economy had bottomed out after suffering a record contraction in the first quarter. The main TAIEX share index <.TWII> jumped 18.48 points to 6,737.29, finishing this week with a 3.8 percent rally and making the index the fourth-best performer among major global markets so far this week. The electronics sub-index <.TELI> rose 0.44 percent, with Taiwan's top chip design house, Mediatek <2454.tw>, up 3.35 percent. It was the most actively traded issue by turnover. Shares worth T$187 billion ($5.7 billion) changed hands, busier than T$182.9 billion a day earlier. "The contraction in Q1 GDP had been expected by investors and had been priced in share prices," said K. H. Lin, a fund manager at Yuanta Funds, which manages about T$70 billion of client assets. "We see further momentum in stocks, since many investors are waiting to buy at pull-back on expectations Taiwan ties with China will continue to improve." Taiwan's economy shrank at a record 10.24 percent in the first quarter due to poor exports and dismal private investment, prompting the government to cut its full-year growth target. [ID:nSP465824] Mediatek, which designs chips used in cell phones, DVD players and flat-screen TVs, is expected to benefit from growing demand in China, analysts have said. Electronics gear giant Hon Hai Precision Industry <2317.tw>, which has significant investments in mainland China, climbed 1.3 percent. The day's top winner was construction shares <.TCOI>, jumping 5.9 percent, on hopes that Chinese investors will invest in the local real estate market and a stronger Taiwan dollar would boost the value of their properties. Huaku Development <2548.tw> and Far Glory <5522.tw>, major real estate developers in Taipei, were both up by the 7-percent daily limit. The Taiwan dollar strengthened to a five-month high on Friday on signs the worst may be over for the island's economy, with demand picking up from foreign funds and some exporters. [ID:nTP69264] Next week, Taiwan shares could trade in a narrow range ahead of the Dragon Boat Festival on Thursday and Friday, Lin added. Bucking the gains, AU Optronics <2409.tw>, the world's No.3 flat-panel maker, was off 2.78 percent after the company said the spike in demand from China and a recovering U.S. market were pressuring supplies. AU told Reuters in an interview that it expects to return to profitability in the second half of this year due to improving demand for flat-screen TVs, but that was sooner than most analysts expect. [ID:nTP238911] "Investors are worried the growing demand from China will not be enough to cover the decline in the U.S. and European markets," said Karen Lin, a fund manager of Paradigm Asset Management. But Lin didn't rule out AU turning profitable in the third quarter. HOT STOCKS -- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co <2330.tw>, the world's top contract chipmaker, slipped 0.7 percent, tracking a 1 percent slide in its American Depositary Receipts in New York trading overnight. -- Acer <2353.tw>, the world's third-biggest PC vendor, closed down 1.34 percent. Acer left open the possibility of raising prices on its laptop PCs in the second half of 2009, citing rising component prices, the Economic Daily reported. --------------------TAIEX IN PERSPECTIVE-------------------- Move on day 0.28 percent Close on day 6,737.29 2009 intraday high 6,784.26 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$32.65) (Reporting by Faith Hung; Editing by Ken Wills) ((faith.hung@thomsonreuters.com; +886 2 2508-0815; Reuters Messaging:faith.hung.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 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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