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14:27 04Sep09 RTRS-Taiwan stocks end at over 1-yr high on Compal, HTC * Compal up on prospect of higher Q3 shipments * HTC climbs to 1-mth high on Sprint Nextel deal * UMC gains on reports of higher profit margin in Q3 (Updates closing prices, quotes) TAIPEI, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Taiwan stocks ended up 0.68 percent on Friday at their highest close in more than a year, as technology shares such as Compal Electronics <2324.tw> rallied on expectations of stronger sales in the third quarter. The main TAIEX share index <.TWII> finished 48.48 points higher at 7,153.13, its highest close since Aug. 15, 2008. Turnover was T$137 billion ($4.2 billion), lower than Thursday's T$138 billion but more than last week's daily average of T$89 billion. "Despite a slew of economic data at home and in the United States indicating a global economic turnaround, investors are still looking for reaffirmation, and the outlook provided by the technology companies fit the bill," said Charles Shen, the president of Taishin Investment Trust Co. Compal Electronics, the world's No. 2 contract laptop PC maker, surged 6.8 percent to a 16-month high, after analysts told Reuters the firm is expecting strong shipment growth in the current quarter.[ID:nTP315335] The computer and peripheral equipment sub-index <.TCPI> rose 1.81 percent. Compal's gain was further boosted by a newspaper report that it plans to increase investment in China. The company will hold it second-quarter investor conference later on Friday. Smartphone maker HTC <2498.tw>, the session's most actively traded stock, finished 5.92 percent up at an one-month high, after U.S telecom operator Sprint Nextel said it plans to sell the firm's Hero cellphone. [ID:nTP314736] "Taiwan is home to many of the world's top laptop PC makers and electronics parts manufacturers, and the main index is expected to benefit from their gains and climb higher within the next few months," Shen said. "But we'll need more good news from China if the TAIEX is to make a breakthrough." There has been little progress on a much-anticipated FTA-like agreement with China, known as the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, deemed crucial to Taiwan's global economic competitiveness. Taiwan stocks have gained more than 56 percent since the begining of this year, largely due to stronger trade ties with China. United Microelectronics Corp <2303.tw>, the world's second largest contract chip maker and the session's most active share by volume, shot up 5.17 percent after a newspaper reported that its third-quarter profit margin could reach a near two-year high. Another bright spot was Mediatek <2454.tw>, Taiwan's top chip designer and supplier, which climbed 2.32 percent after a local newspaper reported Mediatek's chips would be used in Vodafone 's two new cellphone models. China Steel <2002.tw>, Taiwan's top steel maker, dropped 0.5 percent, underperforming the steel and iron sub-index's <.TSTI> 0.71 percent fall. Its shares fell even after it raised domestic product prices by 8.6 percent in October-November from September as demand picked up. [ID:nTP367512] Automobile makers <.TAUI> were the session's top losers, with Yulon Motor <2201.tw> down 2.78 percent after a rally in the previous session. ---------------------TAIEX IN PERSPECTIVE------------------ Move on day 0.68 pct Close on day 7,153.13 2009 intraday high 7,185.52 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 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] 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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