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14:20 11Jun09 RTRS-Taiwan stocks close up, led by steelmakers * Market reverses course to end higher * China Steel gains on plan to raise product prices * LED issues lead tech shares higher on China hopes (Adds details and quotes) By Gina Chang TAIPEI, June 11 (Reuters) - Taiwan stocks closed up 1.63 percent on Thursday, led by steel shares after China Steel <2002.tw> said it would raise prices, while LED stocks also jumped on hopes of increasing demand from China. The main TAIEX share index <.TWII> closed the session 105.10 points higher at 6,567.37, staging a comeback after having dropped more than 1 percent in early trade. Turnover was light at T$116.7 billion ($3.6 billion), slightly higher than the T$114 billion on Wednesday. The steel and iron sub-index <.TSTI> ended the session 3 percent higher, with China Steel <2002.tw>, Taiwan's top steelmaker, up 3.23 percent. China Steel said after the local market closed on Wednesday it would lift domestic steel product prices by an average of 7 percent in July and August from June, its first price rise this year. [ID:nTP194561] "Some steel companies gave a pretty optimistic outlook for the second half of this year. They are also likely to benefit as the government speeds up outsourcing public construction bids," said Andrew Deng, an assistant vice president at Taiwan International Securities. LED (light-emitting diode) related shares also gained on expectations of stronger demand from China. LED chip suppliers Epistar <2448.tw> and Formosa Epistaxy <3061.tw> both surged 7 percent to their daily limit. Investors have been largely bullish on LED-related plays so far this year, with Epistar having climbed more than 180 percent this year, while Formosa Epistaxy has more than doubled. The electronics sub-index <.TELI> was up 1.3 percent, with Taiwan's top two LCD makers, AU Optronics <2409.tw> and Chi Mei Optoelectronics <3009.tw>, rose 1.8 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively. Both AU and Chi Mei said on Wednesday they are facing a shortage of glass used for the panels that could lead to higher prices in the third quarter. [ID:nTP188638] Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) <2330.tw> , the world's top contract chipmaker, recouped early losses to finish 0.17 percent higher. The broader semiconductor sub-index <.TSII> rose 0.55 percent. TSMC posted sales of T$24.47 billion in May, its biggest monthly sales in seven months. [ID:nTP240768] "The market could come under pressure in June because technology companies are in a quiet business season, and that the Taiwan dollar has been rising recently also causes pressure on tech firms," said Bevan Yeh, a senior fund manager at Prudential Financial Securities. The financial sub-index <.TFNI>, whose losses had weighed on the main index early in the session, reversed course to finish 1.88 percent higher. Taiwan government officials on Wednesday said a memorandum of understanding on financial sector ties between Taiwan and China might not be signed by the end of June and could be delayed until after July. Cathay Financial, Taiwan's top listed financial holding firm, rose 0.31 percent while Chinatrust Financial <2891.tw>, the island's largest credit card issuer, jumped 3.22 percent. --------------------TAIEX IN PERSPECTIVE-------------------- Move on day 1.63 percent Close on day 6,567.37 2009 intraday high 7,084.83 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$32.8) ((gina.chang@thomsonreuters.com; editing by Ken Wills; +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 news [TOP/FRX] Global Economy news
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