stock / dlr 32.818 / 750/ +1.5

14:16 10Aug09 RTRS-Taiwan stocks end up; cement, construction lead gains * Cement and construction shares up after typhoon * TSMC up on improved July sales * UMC falls before reporting July sales * Nanya Tech up after upbeat Q3 outlook (Updates indexes and quotes) TAIPEI, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Taiwan stocks closed up 0.21 percent on Monday as investors bought cement and construction shares after a typhoon hit the island, while TSMC gained before the world's top contract chipmaker reported its July sales. The main TAIEX share index <.TWII> finished up 14.22 points at 6,882.87, with T$125 billion ($3.8 billion) worth of shares changing hands. Taiwan's stock market was closed on Friday because of a typhoon over the weekend. Taiwan Cement <1101.tw> rose 2.96 percent, pushing the cement sub-index <.TCMI> up 3.18 percent. The construction sub-index <.TCOI> gained 1.9 percent on hopes of rising demand for reconstruction in the short term. "Investors bought shares that they think would benefit from a rise in demand for reconstruction after the typhoon, but they know the gains are only temporary," said Alan Tseng, a vice-president at Capital Securities. "More investors are on the sideline as they await more economic data from the United States and China to reassure them that the economy is bottoming out." China is due to release a slew of economic data on Tuesday, including July's preliminary trade and industrial production data. Investors are also keeping an eye on the U.S. Federal Reserve, which will release a statement on Wednesday afternoon regarding interest rates and the economic outlook. [.N] Tseng said the main index also tracked gains on Wall Street after better-than-expected July jobs result released last Friday, boosting export-reliant technology shares such as Mediatek. Mediatek <2454.tw>, which supplies chips for mobile phones and TVs, surged 4.65 percent to its highest level since November 2007. The broader electronics sub-index <.TELI> gained 0.29 percent. The U.S. unemployment rate fell in July for the first time in 15 months as employers cut fewer jobs than expected. The data boosted export-reliant technology shares as investor demand for electronics devices is anticipated to rise after the global economy stabilises. [ID:nN07385157] Adding to the positive tone, TSMC <2330.tw> shares gained 1.76 percent, while the semiconductor sub-index <.TSII> rose 1.34 percent. The company said after the market closed that its July sales were down 1.9 percent from a year earlier but had improved from June, showing evidence of growing demand for technology products. [ID:nTPU001568] The advance also came after a newspaper reported that new-generation, low-priced laptops, known as smartbooks, were triggering demand for chips from top contract chipmakers such as TSMC and UMC. United Microelectronics Corp <2303.tw> edged down 0.36 percent. UMC, the world's No.2 contract computer chipmaker, is due to report its July sales later in the day. Nanya Technology <2408.tw>, Taiwan's No.2 DRAM chipmaker, jumped 3.99 percent after the company said on Thursday its bit growth could reach 10 to 20 percent in the third quarter. [ID:nTPU001565] However, the banking and insurance sub-index <.TFNI> dropped 0.53 percent, with Cathay Financial <2882.tw> down 1.51 percent as most financial holding companies are due to release their July earnings results after the market close. Also weighing on the main index were tourism shares, with Formosa Hotel <2707.tw> leading losses with a fall of 2.91 percent, pushing the tourism sub-index <.THOI> 3.27 percent lower. ---------------------TAIEX IN PERSPECTIVE-------------------- Move on day
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