Share prices close flat in Taiwan

The local bourse opened at 7,694.90 and fluctuated between 7,714.70 and 7,671.54 during the day's trading session.

A total of 7.44 billion shares changed hands on weak market turnover of NT$99.69 billion (US$3.09 billion).

Three of the eight major stock categories gained ground, with paper and pulp stocks advancing the most at 0.39 percent. Machinery and electronics shares rose 0.32 percent and foodstuff issues gained 0.28 percent.

Textile stocks moved down the most at 0.77, followed by construction shares at 0.68 percent, plastics and chemicals issues at 0.63 percent, cement stocks at 0.51 percent, and banking and financial shares at 0.01 percent. Losers outnumbered gainer 1,675 to 853, with 231 stocks remaining unchanged.

Foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$436 million in shares.

Nick Lai, an analyst at JP Morgan, a leading global financial services firm, said that the market is likely to test the 8,800-point mark next year as Taiwan is well positioned to benefit from a number of factors, including the global economic recovery, high GDP growth rate next year, continuing profit growth for the corporate sector, abundant market liquidity, the government's fiscal stimulus measures and warming relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.

JP Morgan has forecast that Taiwan's GDP will rise 5.8 percent next year, or even reach between 6.4 percent and 6.7 percent.

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