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14:51 02Sep09 RTRS-Taiwan stocks at near 3-wk high, led by Hon Hai * Hon Hai extends rally on news it would buy Sony's plant * Acer up on improving shipments, operating profit margins * Construction shares up on looser housing loans (Updates indexes, quotes; Adds hot stocks) TAIPEI, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Taiwan stocks rose 0.29 percent to hit a near 3-week closing high on Wednesday, as investors bought shares of technology firm such as Hon Hai <2317.tw> on prospects of increasing global demand for computing devices. The main TAIEX share index <.TWII> finished up 20.02 points at 7,039.77, its highest since Aug 14. Turnover was T$130 billion ($3.95 billion), slightly less than Tuesday's T$139 billion but more active than last week's daily average of T$89 billion. "Individual technology shares were the session's top gainers, with companies like Hon Hai and Acer gaining momentum on expectations of increasing demand globally," said Kevin Chung, an analyst at Jih Sun Investment Consulting Co. The TAIEX is expected to maintain upward momentum as long as turnover remains at T$100 billion or more, Chung said. Hon Hai was the most active share by turnover, extending Tuesday's 6.7 percent rally to rise 3.8 percent and outperforming the electronics sub-index's <.TELI> 0.09 percent rise. Hon Hai, the world's largest electronics parts maker, will buy an LCD TV assembly plant in Mexico from Sony Corp <6758.t>, the world's second-largest LCD TV maker, as part of its efforts to expand capacity. [ID:nT60617] Shares of Acer <2353.tw>, the world's No. 3 PC brand, advanced 2.55 percent. The company expects its operating profit margins to climb as high as 3 percent by 2010, helped by aggressive cost savings measures, a company official said on Wednesday. [ID:nTP160165] The banking and insurance sub-index <.TFNI> recouped earlier losses to end up 1.42 percent, with Fubon Financial <2881.tw> gaining 1.61 percent. A top official from Fubon, parent of Taiwan's No.2 life insurer, told Reuters on Tuesday that the firm plans to invest in a commericial bank and a brokerage house in China. [ID:nTP66235] Construction shares <.TCOI> were the day's top winners with a 4.41 percent rally, with real estate developer Farglory <5522.tw> rising limit-up. Taiwan's top two mortgage loan providers planned to loosen loans to condo buyers, a local newspaper reported on Wednesday. The steel and iron sub-index <.TSTI> was the biggest loser, ending down 1.22 percent, with China Steel <2002.tw> dropping 1.66 percent. China would take measures to tighten its economic growth and imports of raw materials, a local newspaper reported on Tuesday. HOT STOCKS -- Shares of Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp <3009.tw>, the world's No. 4 LCD maker, edged down 0.3 percent, after it told the Reuters China Investment Summit it was concerned the sector will suffer oversupply if companies build more LCD plants in China. [ID:nTP209929] ---------------------TAIEX IN PERSPECTIVE------------------ Move on day 0.29 pct Close on day 7,039.77 2009 intraday high 7,142.63 2009 intraday low 4,164.19 All-time high 12,682.41 12 FEB 1990 -------------------------------------------------------------- ($1=T$32.9) 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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