Taiwan stocks surge on post-holiday reaction to Apple's earnings

Jan 30, 2012, 8:57 GMT

Taipei - The year of the dragon began on the Taiwan Exchange with shares surging 2.4 per cent Monday in the market's first session since January 18.

The TAIEX index gained 173.72 points to close at 7407.41, its highest close since November 15.

Much of the rally was fueled by Apple Inc's earnings report last week that exceeded market expectations with record quarterly results from holiday sales of iPhones and iPads. Revenues reached 46.33 billion US dollars, while profit hit 13.06 billion US dollars.

Investors reacted optimistically Monday by snapping up shares of Apple's suppliers in Taiwan.

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, which assembles iPads and iPhones, hit the single-day ceiling set by the exchange with its shares gaining 6.96 per cent, their highest level since May 18.

Smaller component makers also rode the Apple wave. Casings maker Catcher Technology Co bounced up by 6.87 per cent. Largan Precision Co, the maker of camera lenses on Apple products, increased by 6.62 per cent, while TPK Holding Co, an Apple supplier for touch-panels, gained 6.36 per cent.

The electronics sector led the market upswing with a 3.2 per cent gain, while financial stocks also increased by 2.5 per cent.

The US dollar lost ground to the Taiwan dollar, closing at 29.786 Taiwan dollars Monday. The US dollar last traded on January 20 at 29.990 Taiwan dollars.