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14:20 16Sep09 RTRS-Taiwan stocks hit fresh 14-mth closing high on techs * Upbeat U.S. retail sales data boost technology shares * PC makers extend gains on hopes of growing demand * Taiwan Mobile gains on buying Carlyle's cable TV business (Updates indexes, quotes and details) TAIPEI, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Taiwan stocks rose 1.28 percent to their highest close in more than 14 months on Wednesday, as positive retail sales data from the United States boosted buying in technology shares such as Asustek <2357.tw>. The main TAIEX share index <.TWII> finished 93.98 points higher at 7,440.24, the highest close since June 30, 2008. Netbook pioneer Asustek outperformed the broader market, rising 2.68 percent. Analysts say Asustek's gross profit margin and sales could improve in the second half of the year on expectations that consumer demand for PCs would increase. U.S. retail sales rose in August at the fastest pace in 3-½ years, offering hope for a solid recovery from a severe recession. [ID:nN15548319] "Taiwan stocks rose amid growing confidence of a stronger global economic recovery," said Kevin Chung, an analyst at Jih Sun Investment Consulting Co. He expects the main index to trade between 7,400 and 7,500 points for the rest of the week. "Downstream technology companies fared especially well today and in the last couple of days, on hopes that growing demand for PCs would bring them more orders." The computer and peripheral equipment sub-index <.TCPI> rose 1.51 percent to a near 16-month high, extending gains from the previous session. Quanta Computer <2382.tw>, the world's largest contract laptop PC maker and a key supplier to top brands such as HP , advanced 1.92 percent. Hewlett-Packard has recently unveiled more than 20 new PCs ranging from netbooks, ultra-thin notebooks and desktop computers in Singapore, a local newspaper reported. Medical-related shares <.TCHI> were among the session's top gainers, jumping 2.35 percent, after the island's health authorities confirmed more deaths on H1N1 infections. Chung said while the main index is seen to trek higher over the next few months, the gains could be limited as high price shares began to show signs of waning momentum. Turnover was more active at T$132 billion ($4 billion) compared with Tuesday's T$97 billion. HOT STOCKS -- Taiwan Mobile <3045.tw> rose 1.16 percent after sources said it will acquire a Taiwanese cable TV business owned by the Carlyle Group [CYL.UL]. [ID:nTP280376] [ID:nTPU001681] -- LCD maker Chi Mei Optoelectronics <3009.tw> fell 0.62 percent after a newspaper reported that Goldman Sachs lowered its target price on Chi Mei on concerns that oversupply could push panel prices lower. ---------------------TAIEX IN PERSPECTIVE------------------ Move on day 1.28 pct Close on day 7,440.24 2009 intraday high 7,507.49 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] (Reporting by Joan Hsu; Editing Ken Wills) ((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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