Taiwan stocks advance most in five months; sales surge

Yulon Motor, the island's largest automaker, rallied 7 percent after posting a 60 jump in sales in the first month of the year. Unimicron Technology, based in Taoyuan, gained 6.1 percent after its revenue more than doubled last month. Stocks also advanced on speculation government funds bought equities to boost the market before the Lunar New Year holiday that starts Feb. 11, said Michael Lin, a trader at Fubon Securities Co.

“They have been buying aggressively since Saturday to boost the Taiwan market,” Lin said in an e-mail in Taipei Tuesday. Huang Ding Fang, head of treasury at the Ministry of Finance, wasn't immediately available when Bloomberg called his office.

Taiwan's Taiex index climbed 2 percent, the most since Sept. 1, to 7,361.04 at the close of Taipei trading. The index has slumped 10 percent this year, and is the ninth-worst performer among 94 benchmark gauges tracked globally by Bloomberg.

“The Taiex had fallen a lot already and the investors have finished squaring their positions before the Lunar New Year,” said Sam Hsieh, a Taipei-based fund manager at Fuh Hwa Investment Trust Co., who helps oversee the equivalent of US$4.8 billion. “Moreover, the industries are doing better now as seen in the January sales, so there's more buying.”

Yulon Motor jumped by its 7 percent daily limit to NT$30, the second-best performance on the MSCI Asia Pacific index. Unimicron gained 6.1 percent, the biggest advance since Nov. 30, to NT$36.30.

Compal Electronics Inc., the world's largest maker of notebook computers, climbed 4.9 percent to NT$45.10, the most since Sept. 4. Chief Financial Officer Gary Lu said in a phone interview Tuesday sales will rise in January from December.

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