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14:48 14Jul09 RTRS-Taiwan stocks end up 1.66 pct, tech shares gain * LCD shares lead technology gains * Banking shares steady after president's comments on MOU * Optoelectronics gain on increasing demand for LCD (Adds closing prices, details) TAIPEI, July 14 (Reuters) - Taiwan stocks rose 1.66 percent on Tuesday, with LCD makers such as AU Optronics <2409.tw> leading gains on healthy demand for flat panels in key markets like China. Financial shares <.TFNI> also rose after Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou told a local newspaper in an interview that Taiwan could soon sign a financial memorandum of understanding (MOU) with China. [ID:nTP319759] The main TAIEX shares index <.TWII> ended up 108.59 points to 6,639.41, staging a rebound after posting its worst daily percentage loss in three months on Monday. Turnover was thin at T$96.8 billion ($2.9 billion) compared with Monday's T$120 billion as investors stayed sidelined ahead of the earnings season in the United States. "Technology shares jumped on better-than-expected June sales and on prospects of better earnings in the third quarter," said Andrew Deng, an assistant vice president at Taiwan International Securities. "Electronics shares have been quite resilient as investors shifted their focus away from China-related issues and on to fundamentals such as demand," he said, adding that he expected the index to trade between 6,100 and 6,600 points this week. The electronics sub-index <.TELI>, which rose 2.17 percent on Tuesday, has gained 53 percent since the start of the year, outperforming the main TAIEX index's 45 percent rise. The optoelectronics sub-index <.TOPI> jumped 4.54 percent, with LCD maker AU Optronics and smaller rival Chi Mei <3009.tw> rising 6.54 percent and 4.14 percent, respectively, as demand to replace bulky CRT TVs with LCD models propelled the market. [ID:nSEO174521] Analysts said the European Commission's probe into price-fixing by global LCD makers had limited impact on Taiwan's companies so far. [ID:nTP56552] Electronics giant Hon Hai <2317.tw> rose 2.80 percent on an optimistic outlook for the third quarter as demand for electronics devices increases during the back-to-school season. Financial shares steadied after sharp losses in the previous session, helped by the China MOU news. "I don't think the news had a huge impact on financial shares because investors think it has already been reflected, given the sector's latest gains," added Deng. The banking and insurance sub-index <.TFNI> gained 0.91 percent, lagging the main index's rise, with Cathay Financial Holding <2882.tw> advancing 1.47 percent. --------------------TAIEX IN PERSPECTIVE-------------------- Move on day 1.66 percent Close on day 6,639.41 2009 intraday high 7,084.83 2009 intraday low 4,164.19 All-time high 12,682.41 12 FEB 1990 ------------------------------------------------------------ (Reporting by Joan Hsu; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner) ((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]
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